LeahNOlbrich

Punk Rock Red Panda - 7

2011-11-21T22:02:00.000-08:00

One day my photos will be taken in a clean workspace.

3 weeks later...

eyebrow ring, skull pin & safety pin through ear

skankin' it out

"Dio de los Muertos" Stop Motion Puppet - 4

2011-11-21T20:45:00.000-08:00

The wires in her legs broke a few weeks ago, before I could animate her for real! Finally getting around to fixing her up. My desk is a "Puppet Hospital" at the moment. She'll be up and running any day now. :)

Next time she'll be upright, WITH hair.

Reflections

2011-11-20T16:00:00.000-08:00

Playing with objects and their reflections. It also secretly turned into a series of short horror films.

Blogger won't let me upload the video but you can see it on YouTube HERE.

Here are a few stills.

SkullBunny 3

2011-11-20T15:11:00.000-08:00

Anatomy of the SkullBunny. I've decided to make a cheesy hand puppet joke -- the bunny anatomy only consists of the bones of the human forearm: the radius and ulna, in addition to a nubbin of the humerus (which may also double as a coccyx for the tail). I have to re-draw the humerus/coccyx. There will also probably be a few carpals attaching the skull to the rest of the bones.

Wire & aluminum foil with a skin of Magic Sculpt.

More soon.

Clock People - 1

2011-11-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

My friend Erin and I are developing a stop motion piece about a couple that lives inside a cuckoo clock (on the hour they exit the cuckoo clock and kiss), who manipulate the passage of time.

Here are the character designs for our clock people. The intention is for them to have wooden heads and hands, heads that are disproportionally large, and faces that reflect not age in years but age by monotony of task. Hopefully, they will have more visual charm than these drawings reflect.

Armature beginnings.

Foam Carving - Bat Gargoyle

2011-11-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

Carved a "Bat Gargoyle" out of foam. It's meant to hang on a wall. Covered in Steve's Foam Coat then painted with black gesso and acrylic paint.

Punk Rock Red Panda - 6

2011-11-20T14:49:00.000-08:00

High-res completion shots COMING SOON!!!

Got to bring the SLR back to the studio.

Simulating fingerless gloves.

Punk Rock Red Panda - 5

2011-11-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

Painting!

Needed some red panda reference but

was too lazy to print, so I drew it instead.

Their color markings are slightly different than I remembered.

Fully functional mohawk!

Punk Rock Red Panda - 4

2011-11-20T14:43:00.000-08:00

FUR.

Go go SLR!!!

Punk Rock Red Panda - 3

2011-11-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

Shoes and belt.

A coat of red to fill in color gaps under future fabric.

Upgraded shots from phone pix to SLR!

What a difference!

Beware of artsy shots, haha!

I'm calling it the "Skinned Squirrel" Phase.

Looks a lot like muscle to me right now.

Ever seen a photo of a skinned animal?

Kind of gross but kind of beautiful

and compelling at the same time.

Anyway, I think it's beautiful.

But maybe I'm just weird.

Detail shots are fun.

Punk Rock Red Panda - 2

2011-11-20T14:12:00.001-08:00

Bulking up his sweet bod with foam.

Note: the puppet was originally intended on being an androgynous female but general consensus reassigned her as male. Such is life.

Clothes!

Sewing them took for bloody EVER.

Got to throw in a giant panda joke.

No one thinks it's funny but me.

Movable eyeballs!

'Sup.

Punk Rock Red Panda - 1

2011-11-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

From time to time, I get nostalgic about eras in time that I did not live through. Right now, it is punk rock. So it goes.

Also, reliving my childhood love of pandas and the much cooler red panda.

This is a case of double-nostalgia.

Armature. Hands tend to grow.

Mohawk armature, as ya do.

Armature for ears.

The "Sonic the Hedgehog" Phase.

"Dio de los Muertos" Stop Motion Puppet - 5

2011-11-13T18:52:00.000-08:00

Bald, in pursuit of new hair.

New, more beefy wire.

rawr

Latex for hair.

New hair. Latex rolled over stuffing.

Much better.

Added fluff on top.

"Dio de los Muertos" Stop Motion Puppet - 4

2011-11-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

Painted beginnings.

Rosy cheeks, for a while.

New cheeks. Much better.

Dancing like a fool! :)

'Sup suckas?

"Dio de los Muertos" Stop Motion Puppet - 3

2011-11-13T18:44:00.001-08:00

Animation Test, ala Blanche DuBois

A legit "Shaky Hands" production.

"Dio de los Muertos" Stop Motion Puppet - 2

2011-11-13T18:43:00.000-08:00

Assembling the spine.

Phalanges.

With chatter jaw.

Easter Bunny hair wire.

Bad hair phase.

SkullBunny 2

2011-11-13T18:29:00.000-08:00

SkullBunny as Easter Bunny

SkullBunny 1

2011-11-13T18:27:00.000-08:00

SkullBunny is back. Latex castings.

Urethane Hands 1

2011-11-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

Made an oil clay sketch of a hand. Then made a silicone mold and cast these babies in urethane plastic. The purple one never catalyzed correctly which is why it's so drippy looking. First try. I like that, given my supreme skills, that the hands turn out differently every time! :)

Hand antlers.

Belch Monster 2

2011-11-13T18:12:00.000-08:00

More work in progress, with wrinkles.

Belch Monster 1

2011-11-13T18:11:00.000-08:00

A sculptural work in progress.

Wrapping up for the day.

Extra muscles + fancy butt.

"Dio de los Muertos" Stop Motion Puppet - 1

2011-10-02T02:36:00.000-07:00

First stop motion puppet of the semester, a "Dio de los Muertos" lady skeleton. The challenge is to make the skeleton of a puppet into a literal skeleton. It's not meant to be cheesy. The question is how to build a body out of a rigid material (or not) that rests directly on top of the armature without compromising either the wire or the material resting on it. We'll see what happens.

Another challenge is to make a skeleton

voluptuous without being too fleshy.

The head will be slightly larger than depicted below.

Sculpting beginnings.

No spine yet!

Guitar Painting!

2011-09-07T22:53:00.000-07:00

I started painting my guitar this past spring and JUST finished it! It's a mixture of some of my favorite Alaskan and Egyptian tribal art. All things I would get tattooed on my OTHER body, if I had one.

Favorite color, of course.

Totem Pole with Bears

Scarab Beetle with the Head of Horus and His Falcon Wings

Mustaches are sometimes fun.

Alaskan Sun & Moon

Alaskan Hand

Ravens from a Photo I took in Alaska

Children's Books at Summit Library!

2011-09-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

Last summer I brought my two children's books to my local library in NJ. This summer when I was home, they told me they put them into circulation! How exciting to see them on the very shelves I used to haunt as a child! :)

Haunted Halloween Carnival 2011 - Updated

2011-09-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

The most up-to-date version.

Portrait of a Girl and Her Art

2011-09-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

This summer, I have been helping my good friend and childhood art mentor Elena Caravela self-publish her book Portrait of a Girl and Her Art, which has been in the works for over 5 years (find out more about Elena and her work HERE)!!! The book Portrait of a Girl and Her Art features 15 young girl artists (ages 6-20), several of which are Elena's previous students. It will be finished in the next few weeks, at which time it will be available on Lulu, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, as well as other book distribution companies! More info about that in the future!

I like to say that Portrait of a Girl is a book about girl artists for girl artists. The intention of the book is to inspire young girls to make art...essentially, that art can be whatever you want it to be. Art can be a hobby, a career, a lifestyle, etc. The book features 15 girls but also displays work from many other girls. The hope is to share that art can be whatever you want it to be.

In terms of the featured artists, the book is set up as follows:

Each girl has 4 pages:

1: Portrait of the artist by Elena

2: Title & Quotes from the girl, talking about what art means to them

3: Featured piece(s) by the girl, as well as a caption explaining the content from either a material, idea or thematic point of view.

4: Displays work from other girl artists that can be categorized similarly to the featured work, as well as a "Your Way" section to encourage readers to try to create work inspired by this method of working. This shows that many artists can be inspired by similar things but interpret them in their own individual way. Essentially, there is no right or wrong way to make art.

Below is one of the 15 examples:

If you are interested in learning more about this book, check out the Portrait of a Girl and Her Art BLOG!

More soon. :)

AFP Contest Winner!

2011-08-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

So. Last summer I entered an art contest from the recording artist Amanda Palmer (AFP) hosted by Creative Allies. All art was to be inspired by Amanda's liberation herself from her record company as she chose to become an independently represented songwriter and performer. Turns out, EVERYONE forgot about it because they only JUST announced the winners. AND I'M ONE OF THEM!!!!!!!!

What does this mean in terms of the contest? Hell if I remember! I'm just excited that she looked at it!

Apparently this is the caption I wrote at the time:

Viva la independencia! Depicted is a crime scene, in which Amanda has been liberated from the record company by physically destroying it, severing her ties (broken marionette strings) and signing her independence with "VIVA" written in lipstick. Her shadow image is also visible, as a reminder of her boldness and strength.

That's all folks.

Interviewed by TV-36!

2011-08-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

I've been asked to be interviewed for a segment about the arts that will be broadcasted by my hometown's local TV station, TV-36 in NJ!!!
TV-36/HomeTowne Television

INTERVIEW: Portrait of a Girl and Her Art

2011-08-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Read my INTERVIEW on the Portrait of a Girl and Her Art blog!!!

click to read INTERVIEW!

Haunted Halloween Carnival 2011

2011-08-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

Year 2:

PuppetryArts.org

R.I.P.: Lenny

2011-08-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

R.I.P. (Retired in Pieces) Lenny Puppet

Bidding a farewell to the body of my very puppet, made as an homage to my delightful 3-D Professor Leonard "Lenny" R. Bacich at Pratt Institute. Lenny died in 2010, so consider this a double homage. He was awesome, quirky and encouraged each of us to try new things. Here's to you, Lenny!

Leonard R. Bacich; Pratt Institute GATEWAY March 2010, Pg 2

Leonard R. Bacich; Pratt Institute GATEWAY February 2011

R.I.P.: A Fond Farewell to Hathi the Elephant

2011-08-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

R.I.P. (Retired In Pieces) Hathi the Elephant

This July my father and I laid to rest Hathi the Elephant, belovedly lop-sided two-person costume puppet from based on the elephants from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Like the Mad Hatter, Hathi has moved on to greener pastures. It seems that I'm destined to have a menagerie of heads and hands (or in this case, tail) to keep for posterity. Back to the jungle with ye, oh mighty elephant! Our basement corner and all its dust bunnies will dearly miss you. R.I.P.

R.I.P.: Mad Hatter

2011-08-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

R.I.P. (Retired in Pieces) Mad Hatter

Just recently threw out these old pants that I made during my freshman year at Pratt. We had to build a wearable "float" for my 3-D class, which, of course, meant building a Mad Hatter Costume. First hint at puppetry? Mayhaps. Not consciously.

The construction leaves much to be desired. Hula hoop and foam tubing pants with staple sewing. Duct tape suspender shoulder straps. Construction aside, it was fun to prance around in. AND the pants made good swishing movement when I walked. Lucky for the entire class, Lenny made us parade around campus pre-Halloween to show off our projects.

Hanging out the pants to dry ONE LAST TIME before their untimely departure to the City Dumps.

R.I.P. Retired in Pieces, Mr. Hatter

Sunrise Doodle

2011-05-16T05:43:00.000-07:00

cant sleep

Photobooth + Photoshop + Liquify.

Saw a beautiful sunrise.

Reshoots/Process Photos

2011-05-15T03:42:00.000-07:00

Stop Motion Puppets

Hand Puppets

ZOMBIE!!!

2011-05-15T03:35:00.000-07:00

The Zombie puppet is complete!!!!!!!! And oh so epic and gorey! Here's the process from character design to patterning to chiseling, carving, stringing, costuming and painting!

Sculpy Figure Part 4

2011-05-15T03:21:00.000-07:00

It's finished!

The final process:

They'll Need to Throw Out the Couch

2011-05-15T03:10:00.000-07:00

The Pete mask I helped build for Andrew's show. I also painted it.

Great show, guys!

Study from "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie"

2011-05-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

Train fight scene.

Figure Drawing Comics

2011-05-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

Figure drawing doodles drawn out in a sequential, comic book-y format. Plus, some quick silhouette doodles.

Figure Drawing

2011-05-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

Some figure drawing doodles and some sexy lamps.

Puppet Cabaret

2011-05-05T02:43:00.000-07:00

PUPPET CABARET THIS FRIDAY @ CALARTS!

Friday, May 6th, 10PM-1AM

CalArts Graduation Courtyard

Check out my poster.

Also did the poster for Andrew Aronsohn's puppet production "They'll Need to Throw Out the Couch," also at CalArts.

May 10th & 11th, 9 PM in E407

"Abracadabra" Film

2011-05-05T02:37:00.000-07:00

My first real stop motion film!

"Abracadabra"

...

Did some low-tech edits on 2 previous stop motion videos as well.

"BOO"

"Juggling"

All three videos will be hopefully be screened in Puppet Cabaret! They will also be screened in CalArts' "Bijou Fest" in the school theater on Thursday, May 19th from 4-6 PM.

Also viewable on My YouTube Channel.

"Abracadabra" Setup

2011-05-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

On set preparing to start shooting my first real stop motion short film in the stop motion film cage! Took almost 2 hours to get the stage and lighting right. Shooting still images on a mini DV camera, frames captured in Dragon Stop Motion. Ideally, I would be shooting stills on a digital SLR.

Remember this?

-> -> ->

As seen through the lens.

One of my shots, from behind the camera control.

Shooting the frame.

It's fun to see the same setup from 3 different points of view!

Sculpy Figure Part 3

2011-05-05T02:14:00.000-07:00

Corpse Bride Puppets

2011-05-05T02:05:00.000-07:00

My Stop Motion Basics teacher brought in Corpse Bride puppets (he co-directed the film with Tim Burton)! We got to hold them and everything!

Victoria

Victor

Bonejangles

Dweebalicious!!!

Hand Puppets - Assembled

2011-05-05T01:58:00.000-07:00

They are assembled!

Higher-res photos coming soon!

Hand Puppets - Painted

2011-05-05T01:45:00.000-07:00

Faerie & Pirate:

Two left hands, since the mold for the right hand broke.

The pirate head mold was a bit funky so, thusly, the casting was a bit funky.

Solution: fun underwater-y barnacle texture.

Fun autumn-colored faerie.

Instantly more awesome with ears!

...

Goblin:

Hand Puppets - Neoprene Castings

2011-05-05T01:31:00.000-07:00

Photos of all the cast neoprene pieces, excepting the pirate head.

Simple Magic

2011-05-05T01:18:00.000-07:00

Some photos I took from our dress rehearsal two weeks ago. This is a closeup of the Hettie marionette that Miriam made.

Live mini camera feed of the "Country" sequence projected into the window pane.

Live mini camera feed of the "Chicago" sequence projected into the window pane. I drew the train tracks and the buildings/images in the "Chicago" portion of the box.

Live mini camera feed of the "Thaddeus Shrine" sequence projected into the window pane.

Live mini camera feed of some of the playing cards I made.

A beautiful lighting shot from the box turn.

Anti-gravity tea party. The teapot, etc are hanging at 90 degrees from the wall surface, facing downward.

A cropped shot of the stage.

And I even got to be sawn in half after the final show!!!

Beethoven's Zombies Official Footage!

2011-04-23T00:10:00.000-07:00

The official video recording of the performance by the ROD (Roy O. Disney Music Hall) Staff.

"Dawn of the Hero"

"Dawn of the Hero" zombie scene @ 27 minutes in!

I'm the zombie with the super bobbly head!

Stop Motion Magic

2011-04-22T23:56:00.000-07:00

Shot my short stop motion film yesterday with these characters! How funny that they also involve a magician and assistant! I've had this magician character for over a year now, it's exciting to bring him to life! Images/preview coming soon!!!

"Simple Magic" @ CalArts

2011-04-22T23:50:00.000-07:00

"Simple Magic" Conceived, Written and Directed by Miriam Jones (MFA2 Puppetry).

I was puppetry assistant, helping with drawing and creating objects, and graphic designer.

Preview was this Wednesday!

Performances Thursday-Saturday!

Tickets available @ Eventbrite

or rush tickets @ CalArts Box Office.

It is a beautiful one-woman show about a magician's assistant named Hettie, who is coping with the death of her beloved magician, Thaddeus. She has created this world for herself filled with hand-made objects and remnants of their life together. With these objects, she shares the rituals she has created with them. These objects help her to catalog the details of their love, thus preserving Thaddeus' memory as she copes with his death.

The drawings seen in the show are based on the drawings of Henry Darger (Henry Darger), created as tracings of pre-existing images interpreted in a new way. It is the hand-made aesthetic that is important since Hettie, who is not necessarily a visual artist, has created all of the seen images herself, in haste or with care, in fits of emotion, whether it be love, rage, or simply a need to remember.

Prop preview!

I don't have scans of the finalized cards, but here are some of the tracings from earlier on in production for a lovely card sequence.

Hettie is replaced by the cabinet and the

cabinet is replaced by Thaddeus bowing.

The show is more lovely every time I see it!

Way to go crew and way to go Miriam!

Hand Puppet Casting, Continued

2011-04-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

Right now, I'm on the neoprene stage, which is a bit further along than these show. Photos coming soon. However, here is some of the mold-making process in readying the clay sculptures for the neoprene casting. Characters: Faerie and Pirate; relative characterizations...they may change. It depends on how the castings come out.

Built up clay walls and foam core walls to prepare for a plaster pour for the first part of a 2- or 3- part mold. Both heads are 3-part molds, the hands and ears are all 2-part molds.

Once the plaster was dry, I tore off the foam core and flipped the molds. Then, I removed the clay wall and replaced the foam core walls in preparation for pouring the plaster on the other side.

Second part poured.

The babiest hand!

Preparing to pour the third plaster part of one of the heads.

Time to separate the molds!

Struggled with the pirate's hands. When I pried into the side of the mold, out popped the hand attached to the flathead of the screwdriver!

Had to do a partial re-sculpt of the hands and recast the second side.

Not all of the molds worked the first time around so I had to recast several sides. For example, the pirate head went from a 3-part to a 4-part mold when I opened it, i.e. the third side cracked in two. Repaired it today.

My "army of molds," as my friend Chase calls it!

The neoprene is poured and setting in all but one of the six molds, to be removed tomorrow! If the repaired pirate head plaster mold is dry enough tomorrow, I'll do the neoprene pour. It's exciting learning new things! Though, I recommend doing one mold at a time as opposed to six. It's a little bit crazy.

Sculpy Figure Part 2

2011-04-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

New pose -- a dancer on the ground with back leg in "attitude". Baked it, thus far, so I can build it up and sculpt in the finalized anatomy/characterization. So, for now, it's in rough sculpt phase. Probable next step: plumber's steel epoxy putty to add strength to weak points, then more sculpy, then magic sculpt.

Sculpy Figure Part 1

2011-04-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

Wire->Skeleton->Organs->Muscle-Skin->Awesome!

More images coming later today!

accidental ink transfer tattoo

the best!

"why, cruel world?!"

also, intestines.

...

More soon!

Pirate

2011-04-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

Beginning stages of the Pirate head. Constructed in the same way as the Faerie. Separate ears and hands also. Right now it is covered in water clay as well, waiting for plaster to make the 2-part mold.

Faerie 2

2011-04-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Looks pretty cool in it's beginning mold-making stages!

"The Life of the Bee" @ CalArts

2011-04-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

"The Life of the Bee" Conceived and Directed by Moira MacDonald (MFA2 Puppetry)

I helped workshop this show last semester, designed the poster and did a little bit of puppet building.

Preview this Wednesday!

Performances Thursday-Saturday!

Tickets available @ Eventbrite

or rush tickets @ CalArts Box Office

...

On deck for next week:

"Simple Magic" Conceived, Written and Directed by Miriam Jones (MFA2 Puppetry)

Stop Motion Armature Puppets, Part 4

2011-04-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

Puppet test.

(little "Fight Club" blip near the end)

Mostly finished puppets.

Still phone-quality photos.

One day they will be shot for real.

My dad and I built a pegboard stage for when I animate my short film.

Study from "The Walking Dead"

2011-04-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

Extraordinary visual effects, KNB EFX Group always delivers!

Stop Motion Armature Puppets, Part 3

2011-04-01T23:14:00.000-07:00

Nicer photographs coming soon.

PUNCH

2011-03-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

Drama of Works put me on their list (under "Films in 2010")! Yay! :)

Punch Puppet Slam

The Music Bus Tour - Tetra String Quartet

2011-03-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

Current Musicians in Residence for The Music Bus Tour are the Tetra String Quartet. Look for them on tour in Texas.

TetraQuartet.org

TheMusicBus.org

Studies from "The Dark Crystal"

2011-03-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

"He's not dead YET!"

"Where is he?"

"He's dead."

"He could be anywhere then!"

Skull Bunny - Third Casting

2011-03-24T02:08:00.000-07:00

Made a huge mess casting this bunny. The latex spilled out of the ear of the mold, so we thought the casting wouldn't really work out. (But it was fun to peel the latex off the floor!) Curveball: best casting yet! Fully functional (if slightly thin) hand puppet! AND the teeth were successful as well! Plus, there's a weird double nose cavity thing happening. Cool!

RAAAWR!
So much fun!!!

Stop Motion Armature Puppet(s), Part 2

2011-03-24T01:58:00.000-07:00

The Man:

Snowman stage!

Costume Preview!

The Lady:

Faerie

2011-03-20T04:08:00.000-07:00

Puppet head to be cast in polyurethane.

Elongated cranium ala John Mahoney's Brian Froud illustration day.

...

Built a portable corkboard stand for tacking up drawings while sculpting.

Interesting sculpting idea ala Greg Ballora.

Saving clay.

Monster, creepy-like, mostly featureless stage.

A nose in need deserves Puffs indeed?

Not quite the original design but for a first try at this method it's pretty okay.

Somewhat Alien phase.

Eye sockets open for casting.

Skull Bunny - Second Casting

2011-03-20T03:53:00.000-07:00

It has TEEFS!!!

Kind of like Frank from Donnie Darko.

Stop Motion Armature Puppet, Part 1

2011-03-17T00:18:00.000-07:00

Building an armature puppet to animate in stop motion. I'm building a 3-dimensional version of this paper puppet that I built last spring, based on the character The Comedian from Neil Gaiman's short story "The Queen of Knives" (seen also in my StopMo film "(grrr)"). Here are some work-in-progress photos.

Puppet Character Design

Paper Clay over wooden barrel shape.

With teeth!

Potential second character quick sketch.

Wood Carving

2011-03-16T23:56:00.000-07:00

Quick studio snaps of my first attempts at hand wood carving. None of these pieces are quite done yet. Not my forte but I'm learning!

Beginnings of an arm.

Leg.

Moulin Rouge - Yet Unfinished

2011-03-15T18:49:00.000-07:00

Compiled study from "Moulin Rouge" - unfinished.

It's one horizontal mural-type drawing.

I'll merge the two images when it's finished.

3D Previews - Skull Bunny & Armature Puppet

2011-03-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

Skull Bunny Hand Puppet

Test latex cast from a plaster mold, from a clay sculpture.

Explanations when I have more photos.

Beginnings of armature stop motion puppet.

Ditto to the explanations.

Zombie Puppet Design

2011-03-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

A quick puppet character sketch for the final project for my Constructing Performing Objects (i.e. Wood Carving) class. More than likely it will be a marionette...of the zombie variety.

Things I'm Considering in the Design ("Play With..."):

-anatomy vs

-stiffness vs

-hyperextension vs

-wonktacular gravity (that's official, medical terminology)

-spilling bones & organs

-blood & decay

-ripped (fabricated) clothing

-controlled by standard "x" control or another way?

Big questions. Too soon to say. It only exists in ink so far, a lot can change.

Did I mention that Zombie are this semester's unwritten theme? It's a strange thing. A+ for consistency.

Inspired by the original wood carving fail:

Stop Motion Sketches

2011-03-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

Wanted to create a walk cycle.

Paper Mache

2011-03-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

The beginnings of what will be either a witch or goblin (methinks this idea is winning, but better than Charlie Sheen) hand puppet. Paper mache head with brown postal paper and corn starch paste. Go go gadget fuzzy phone pix!

Dry.

What a crazy nose.

Puppetry Posters

2011-03-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

Posters for the two MFA2 Puppetry Shows at CalArts

Inspired by this image by graphic designer Tibor Kalman

Poster for Puppetry Arts' Family Festival

"For the Ravens" - a poem

2011-03-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

So I'm in this class called Graduate Performance Analysis. We read theory about theater and performance and talk about it. Sometimes, we have guest artists who join us and do the same.

This week, we had a reading followed by an assignment to "drift" around, take in our campus surroundings, notice the unnoticed, and be all poetic about it. At the graduate level, we are writing deeply inspiring poetry. DEEPLY inspiring.

Somewhere, my middle school self is laughing and crying at the same time. And writing about it.

Here is my very serious, very inspiring, very poetical, poety poem. It's for the birds.

...

“For the Ravens”

i like to think i’m on a first-name basis with all the ravens.

we talk sometimes. me in one, them in ninety-nine different voices.

sometimes with a nutcracker-y glottal call.

i imagine there isn’t much of a bounty in terms of eyeballs for them to eat—

and i’ve none to spare—

but we bond often over shared cafeteria food.

the salmon pleases them best.

their feet tell me so as they saunter towards me with diagonal non-subtlety.

their beaks will feast but never say.

surprisingly shy, they are. we share this.

they don’t want to be noticed, but i notice them.

THEY are my favorites.

at eight in the morning they are the same size as airplanes in the sky.

but they are more beautiful

and speak more clearly.

(nevermore has never been a part of their vocabulary, nor do they intend it to ever be.

they appreciate poe but have more variety to their tales than he.)

the ravens are time and space for me here. and, truly, they make better use of both than the rest of us:

they are always outside.

they waste nothing.

they hop and skip and frolic.

once, i even saw one galumphing.

humans i have seen do this even less.

well, someone.

once.

it almost doesn’t count.

count the ravens?

can’t.

they are endless. Endless.

Yes. See. I have forgotten.

Their name is Matthew. All of them.

Graduate Play Analysis - Dada Erasures

2011-03-03T03:08:00.000-08:00

"I use anarchy 'cause I wanna be anarchy"

-the Sex Pistols

Coming Soon - The Dark Crystal & Skull Bunny

2011-03-02T22:50:00.001-08:00

Hand Puppets - Burlesque

2011-03-02T22:46:00.000-08:00

Found object hand puppet, i.e. Burlesque puppet. Fiber garden pot head, bath scrubber thingie hair, yogurt container hat, gear eyes, bolt mouth, bottle cap bra. Boa boa. Design flaw: anatomically equipped but structurally unable to shimmy.

Troublesome camera focus.

Hand Puppets - Mad Scientist

2011-03-02T22:39:00.000-08:00

First hand puppet using the "puppet sleeve" and "finger stall" techniques. This is the test puppet, i.e. Mad Scientist. Beer tab glasses and pocket protector with toothpick pencils included.

Hand Puppets - Sock

2011-03-02T22:36:00.000-08:00

The first hand puppet. Head of newspaper covered in a sock. 18'' square fabric piece. Little detail bits are the fingertips from my gloves. "Bold use of buttons," says Greg. Strangely chicken-like face.

Under Wraps

2011-02-24T21:01:00.000-08:00

Bird Creature Bust, from the archives. Wrapped to keep the clay wet. Looks like a mummified something. Mummified Something. I like the way that sounds.

Study from "Red"

2011-02-24T20:51:00.000-08:00

John Malkovich was quite quotable in this scene.

Studies from "28 Days Later"

2011-02-24T20:50:00.000-08:00

Zombie Chimp

Zombie Priest

The last one is one of the best movie shots I've seen in a long time.

It is possible that Zombies are the theme of this spring.

Interesting. I never really liked zombies. Until now. Apparently.

Stop Motion (grrr)

2011-02-21T20:25:00.000-08:00

The REAL found object film.

With fun SFX.

My favorite yet (obviously).

Alien Illustration

2011-02-21T19:40:00.000-08:00

Made an alien creature from a photograph of a friend.

Photo collage/digital illustration.

Here is the finished image.

Process:

Started with a normal photograph that I distorted.

Then I cloned some texture and digital collage-ified.

One week later...

Stop Motion Found Objects, Take Two

2011-02-21T19:29:00.000-08:00

Slightly improved from the first take. Still had issues with the light being super reflective but at least the camera was more cooperative. Not my best work, but it's still kind of cute. P.S. Happy Belated Valentine's Day.

Stop Motion Found Objects

2011-02-17T23:21:00.000-08:00

Down shooting with found object(s), i.e. a can opener. I was super sick the day I filmed this and the camera was freaking out, so I may reshoot it at some point. We'll see. It's painfully cute. <3

"The Kiss"

Beethoven's Zombies

2011-02-15T00:16:00.000-08:00

Got to be a zombie in a performance art piece for a musician's piano recital!

"Dawn of the Hero." Performance Art Piece for MacKenzie Reed's MFA Mid-Residence Piano Recital. Sonata in C Major, Op. 53 III. Rondo: Allegretto Moderato, Ludwig van Beethoven. Conceptualized by MacKenzie Reed. Friday, February 11, 2011. Roy O. Disney Music Hall. California Institute of the Arts.

Link on YouTube HERE

Creature Bust

2011-02-13T13:52:00.000-08:00

Creature bust out of WED clay. Was having some trouble with my camera, but I'll re-photograph when I'm more finished with the sculpture.

Stop Motion SFX

2011-02-10T15:19:00.000-08:00

Stop Motion with Sound Effects (SFX)!!! Raina and I were gigglefritzes the whole time we were making it. Perhaps there's a slice of an "Evil Dead" homage at the end...

"Buu"

Studies from "30 Days of Night: Dark Days"

2011-02-05T01:39:00.000-08:00

Drawing movies is addictive. I highly recommend it! (The first movie is better, btw.)

The Queen Vampire Lilith was bathing in blood. WHAAAT?!?

This last drawing is my favorite so far.

Studies from "30 Days of Night"

2011-02-05T01:37:00.000-08:00

So, it took me about 5 hours to watch this movie because I kept pausing it to draw! Aaah! I'll never be able to watch movies normally ever again! (There's a possibility that I'm secretly okay with this haha.)

This vampire is a little girl. A LITTLE GIRL! So freaky.

Studies from "The Town"

2011-02-05T01:28:00.000-08:00

Really quick studies from the movie "The Town."

Magic ala William Kentridge

2011-02-03T15:53:00.000-08:00

I am assisting on a Puppetry Project that focuses on the theme of "Magic." Part of our visual process and experimenting will involve playing with tactile art forms like drawing, illustrating, painting, puppet-building etc in conjunction with film, animation and projection. Some points of visual inspiration for the piece include ectoplasm/ghost/trick photographs from the early world of photography, Victorian portraits, and magicians/magic in general.

I did this experiment based on something I saw in William Kentridge's MoMA exhibit in NYC last spring. He is a genius and, thus, very clever with his use of animation and camerawork. The goal of this experiment was to do a drawing liVe on film, then reverse the footage so the audience views it as an "undrawing."

Here is a clip of the Kentridge animation I based the experiment on. It is the animation on the left, though I highly encourage the watching of both!

Stop Motion Basics!

2011-02-03T15:38:00.000-08:00

My first CalArtian stop motion video! I edited the speed to make it half as fast so it's easier to view. It's called "Epic Fail."

Monsters Under the Bed

2010-12-17T16:51:00.000-08:00

Some fun "Monsters Under the Bed" shadow puppets.

Mission Statement - Work in Progress

2010-12-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

One of our semester-long assignments for my acting class with Marisa Chibas was to create a "Mission Statement." I'm not sure how successful this is as a mission statement, but it's a slice of my tongue and mind. Felt nervous/excited about sharing it with my acting class but, quaveringly, I did. So I'm rolling up my sleeves and sharing it here as well.

"My Mission Statement, A Work in Progress--"

by Leah N. Olbrich

The majority of what I seek in this lifetime is immaterial. My greatest goal and challenge in this life is to find happiness. I seek work that brings me passion. As of now I find many aspects of my life to be enjoyable with elements of passion, but finding true passion is a journey. Perhaps passions change, or evolve. Maybe passion means putting your entire heart into what you do, no matter what it is. This is something I hope to discover. I find joy in creating art, building things, working with my hands, singing, dancing, laughing, playing, observing the beauties of nature and the simple delights in life. My great hope is to continue working in the arts, as an open-minded individual, who cannot be described by labels. My work includes aspects of illustration, puppetry, photography, collage, found object, writing, maybe even music or film but I hope the creation process always includes joy. My work also reflects my intrigues—texture, line, color, stories, fantasy, creatures, people, dreams, energy, healing. Utilizing spontaneity. Embracing unanticipated changes as happy accidents rather than unsolvable mistakes. In this life, I hope to find peace within myself. Learn how to articulate my voice beyond the written word. Find my voice in song and communicate without fear. Find the feeling of home. Know sleep. And dreams. Be confident in myself and trust that I am worth sharing with others. Be comfortable in this body and energetically present. Maintain the use of my third eye without hindering my first two from being active in the same space. Know when to guard my energy and when to share it. Allow myself to be vulnerable in front of other people. Permit myself to find excitement in challenges. Be unafraid to love, to exist, to be a part of the world.

My mantra: I send maximum gratitude and unconditional love to the conscious and unconscious universe and beyond. I am infinite.