Tonight is the opening of the Sketchbot Custom show at Munky King in LA.  I was invited to create a custom for the show and here\’s my finished piece that I call \”Home is where the hearth is\”. It\’s a steam powered sketchbot that has long since broken down only to be reclaimed by a field mouse who has built himself a cozy nest in the abandoned hearth.

The sketchbot is such a distinct character already I felt it best to stay true to the original character but put my own twist to it.  About a year ago I created a character called Blank Frank and had made a version that was steam powered by the boiler in it\’s head.  When looking at the sketchbot I thought it made the perfect vehicle for this concept.  So I cut in a window to view the boiler, added a door and some piping to transform sketchbot into a steam-powered robot.  What was really difficult was creating and painting the interior floor/ceiling to the boiler/furnace.  I had to cut out one of the arm sockets to make it happen.  I also had to bend a paint brush at an angle to reach all the interior surfaces.

The window is made of a bit of spare plastic I had lying around.  I used the same plastic to create the shield for the meter which kinda represents my sketchbot\’s eye.  The meter was designed in illustrator and printed out to size.  I wasn\’t overly happy with the quality of the print out I was able to achieve on my home printer but it is infinitely better than what I would have been able to achieve by hand.  The door to the furnace has a working hinge and handle that does lock the door closed.  Inside the old abandoned furnace is the field mouse\’s nest and some food he has stored.

The show starts tonight so if you\’re in the LA area check it out along with about 75(I think) other great artists included(are you kidding me, Frank Kozik).   I\’m in a show with Frank?  Frank doing a custom?  That\’s so punk.