29 Jan
Disaster strikes…
I got a text from Michelle, my contact at the Orange County Film Festival, along with a picture.
The text read,
Working on a refund right now
Mortally wounded Victorian Airship
Needless to say, I was immediately nauseous. My heart racing, I replied, “What happened?!? Michelle said, “They put a heavy crate right on top and it fell right through. So mad. It clearly says on your crate, FRAGILE, Do not stack.”
Apparently, the Diabolus was undamaged, but the Victorian was a wreck, which gave me an idea. I texted back saying, “I don’t know what your status is, but I have an idea. I’ve been toying with the idea of building an airship battle scene. In fact, I have a customer that wants me to do that. A natural progression from just posing nice airships in menacing positions would be to show one or more with damage. If you know of someone who’s good with model production, maybe have them hang the damaged airship in such a way that it looks to be crashing after being hit by the other. Use paint and lighting to simulate smoke and fire. Could be very dramatic and cool. Let me know what’s going on.”
I didn’t hear from her for the next two days, but on the 4th of January, late in the evening Michigan time, I got a text from Michelle saying, “Hey. Sorry if this is so late. The film festival is going on as we speak. We managed to save your airship!!! We had to make a new airship blimp. Everything else is pretty much the same. Some supports broke so we had to be creative. But we used both of your airships. You are amazing and we love them!!!!!!! Thank you again for working so hard to make his happen for us!!” The following pictures were attached…
Resurrected Victorian at the OCFF!
Quite different, but a great save…
Flying over the Red Carpet
Well, I was very happy that they’d managed to save the Victorian and use it for their event. It was considerably different than it was before damage and repair, but they had pulled it off and the piece certainly got the point across. Michelle said she would send professional photos of the event as soon as she got them back from the photographer, as well as video coverage when it was finished being edited.
Next time, I’ll wrap it up by posting the pictures of the event. ‘Til then…
Stephan J. Smith is the artist and sculptor at Artsmith Craftworks in Swartz Creek, MI. Using recycled and repurposed materials, Stephan builds a myriad of sculpted wonders, including fantastic and whimsical steampunk airships that have amazed and delighted fans for years. A passion for reusing and upcycling found items into beautiful and amazing art is what drives Stephan to make art that both teaches and inspires. Stephan also does commissioned work and is available to do talks and classes on repurposing/upcycling and may be reached at ArtSmithCraft@yahoo.com or by phone at 810-516-7381.