Sunday, February 24, 2008

Early Ray Guns


When I first started making ray guns, I didn't know a good way to make a finish on the surface and opted for some Daniel Smith metallic acrylic paint. It made them look like the cheap plastic ray guns that had dazzled me as a kid. I wanted to make the kinds I had wished for, but hadn't ever seen.

Once I saw a display of 'real' ray guns and transporter/communication devices actually used in TV and movies like Star Trek, etc. What they looked like on the screen and what they were in real life was two different things. They were flimsy, some rather clunky and definitely not the sleek, streamlined instruments enhanced and embellished by my imagination and the magic of film.

I wanted to make more than a water gun or cookie shooter. This first one is a very small and made of stoneware--a clay that is just too rough for the kind of surface I was looking for. I would later learn porcelain and found it was much better.

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