Finished Feet

Dear Reader,

Something strange happened yesterday, I called the Aliens in to help me paint the feet ... but they were busy ... cleaning their room! It left me a little off-balance as indeed it might you. So, to sure things up, behold the feet in their finished form!!

For a sense of scale, I called Alien One back to stand between them, oh and of course there's Vlad in the background :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS Let me know if you want to be a fish in this shoot!! I'd love extras :)

Squirrely Raft gets a Sail

Dear Reader,

It has come together beautifully, the sail for the squirrels' raft to freedom!

Even the squirrels look excited about the new addition to their raft!!

As promised, Alien One has outdone herself on the sewing machine, piecing a panoply patchwork from the Trouble and Strife's scrap-box. All we need now is a bit of wind :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Justus' 2nd Thought: Heel-hooks and Natural Selection

I was out at the boulders today, helping a friend with a difficult heel-hook, when I remembered what Darwin had said about climbing:

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

"That's it!" I thought. Open the hips to the spirit of change. Send!

PS. Spotting me in the picture is the ever attentive Bob Kellough!

Squirrely Raft

Dear Reader,

As alluded to a long time ago, there's a tidal wave coming, and our squirrels will need a raft!

Fortunately it's coming together! A sail would be a big help, but rest assured Alien One, the demon on the sewing machine, has promised her assistance :)

With bindings already fastened (see below), they'll soon be on their way!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Summertime on the Beach

Dear Reader,

With Summer in full swing, the Aliens and I decided it was important to recharge the creative spirit with a little beach time!




Nothing quite like running free to rejuvenate the spirits!!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Foot Gets Legs

Dear Reader,

As promised, the feet are developing legs!

I'm loving the scope and can't wait to see them surrounded by fish! Stay tuned for skin :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Hector Zamora

Dear Reader,

One of the most inspiring things in life is scale. Many times, the very simple is that much more pleasurable when seen in scale.

Combine the scale with a sense of whimsy and you almost always double the effect!

Whether it be a zeppelin stuck between two buildings or flags on a beach, Hector Zamora is a man who understands this. To be further inspired, check out this wonderful slideshow of his work.


And for inspiration from closer to home, stay tuned for legs on our feet tomorrow ;)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Sneak Peek: Introducing Nesting!

Dear Reader,

A couple of weeks ago, Alien One and I filmed an aerial view of the town of Nesting. Today I thought I'd share that shot with you as a sneak peek :) Enjoy!


For now though, it's back to adding legs to the feet today, pics tomorrow :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Ed's Kitchen Shoot

Dear Reader,

As promised, here's a couple of pics from Sunday's shoot. On the right, is me helping lay out - and trying to understand - Ed's flipbook map of Nesting.

Radiant on the left, Kate, our wonderful Marcy, in the Trouble and Strife's magnificently whipped together costume and below, Ed himself, putting "tax office" stickers on envelopes.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

A Bigger Foot

Dear Reader,

To fit with the grander vision of The Squirrel King, we've super-sized the feet for the fish pedicure.

Alien Two and I actually started out trying to simply fashion some large-scale feet from cardboard, but they looked too robotic.

Undaunted however, we returned to our roots: chicken wire and papier mache. We've still got to add the ankles, but the scale now seems right for fishes painted on peoples faces.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

P.S. Check back tomorrow for some images from yesterday's wonderful shoot of Ed's kitchen!

Eggs Anyone?

Dear Reader,

Fried eggs and pie, just a couple more elements for Ed's kitchen this Sunday.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Kate Stewart McGregor, Our Marcy

Dear Reader,

It took a year and a half of searching, but persistence paid off and a little while back we found our Marcy. Kate McGregor-Stewart comes with a wonderfully rich history on stage and in film, and an ebullient personality perfect for her part in The Squirrel King.

This weekend, Ed's wife comes to life! Stay tuned for updates :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Miniature Shower Stalls

Dear Reader,

Every world has its sanctuaries - places that somehow offer safe havens from the surrounding turmoil. In the Squirrel King, shower stalls play that role.

This Sunday's shoot in Ed's kitchen requires miniature versions. Fashioned from paper-clips, bottle tops and masking tape, they were fiddly work, but very much look the part!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

A Foot for Fish

Dear Reader,

With a fish pedicure in mind, Alien Two and I started on some feet to surround by painted-face-fish.
Alien Two quickly set about whipping up some papier mache glue, and before we knew it we had a first skin on our wire legs.

Still there's something a little off about the scale of these feet ... stay tuned for some grand developments ;)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Deep Sea Inspiration

Dear Reader,

Check out this wonderful piece of inspiration from the filmmaker that goes by PES. Between this and the fish faces of the other day, I'm feeling swept up by deep sea inspiration!


Also, if you liked this you might want to check out the rest of his site.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Ed's Dinnerware

Dear Reader,

You may recall that some time back the aliens and I started on Ed's kitchenware ... well I'm pleased to report that with the shoot now on the schedule for next weekend, the cardboard bones have been brought to life.
Squirrel King-style flatware is next!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Robin Walks the Plank

Dear Reader,

Over the course of the last couple of weeks Shi Ne, our wonderfully courageous Robin, has defied fear and walked the plank ... well a Squirrel King plank over grass, and leading to the top of an airstream.

Why? you might ask. To save the squirrels of course!

As to how exactly lining a plank with pink cookies will save some squirrels ... for that you'll have to wait for the series to air (on the bright side, we're still on target to finish production by the end of the year).

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Returning the Dolly

Dear Reader,

It was just a couple of years ago that summer evening strolls involved lulling my babies to sleep in a stroller. Those days may be long gone, but the truism that no task is too small to enjoy remains :)

More shooting today!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Nesting, Through Parted Clouds

Dear Reader,

Yesterday after school, Alien One shared with me a wonderful view of the town of Nesting (aka the community her class built from milk cartons).

Together we fashioned clouds from cotton batting, slung up a cloth backdrop from last year, and coaxed a tired old stroller into a grand dolly shot filled with scope, gravitas and whimsy.

And after all was said and done, we packed up and meandered home, me lugging the camera, she pushing the rest of our bulky equipment.


How precious it is to enjoy such meaningful time with my delightful daughter :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Reference: Fish-Head

Dear Reader,

Scouring the web for images of fish, I came across these wonderful renditions.

I've seen the similar idea of painting hands before, but incorporating one's mouth is a whole new level of genius!

I love it! I'm not sure where, but somewhere in The Squirrel King, something will definitely have to be rendered this way :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Home-made Crane

Dear Reader,

There's a certain dam-scaling scene that I have periodically pushed back shooting for a little over a year now. In part it's been schedule conflicts, in part it's been priorities, but mostly I've been waiting for a crane to miraculously appear from the ether.

What I should have divined some time ago, is that the non-appearing-crane, was not appearing, precisely because it was waiting for us to build it!

Finally with the epiphany realized, the Aliens and I seized the day and started summer early.

First we dismantled, long forsaken, but squirreled away bike training wheels and then we took a trip to the hardware store.

On the way home, the Aliens ate some cream puffs and fell into food-coma which was soon followed by sleep.

I on the other hand pulled out the power tools and got started! ... I think we're going to need another trip to the hardware store tomorrow, but stay tuned for the final product, our production value is about to go sky-high!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Set-Decorated Trailer

Dear Reader,

With the addition of some Squirrel King fishy curtains and some delightful hanging circles (care of Alien Two's school) we quickly brought our trailer location into our world.




Great work yesterday to everyone involved! Thanks again, and more soon.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims