Stalled on dragonfly, waiting for art materials. In the meantime I had a custom tribute job waiting in the wings on subject matter that admittedly has been 98% off my personal musical radar. Similarly, a couple of years ago, it's kind of how I was introduced to the Black Sabbath catalog, and I am grateful for the opportunity to explore a body of work foreign to me, in this case a monumentally sized one, I'll bet the largest assembled catalog of any particular band in history, including the bootlegs etc. This project is for a somewhat respected AGF brobrah, who apparently covets meandering stoned music that seems to go on and on and on without direction or, much like how my life seems to be working right now.... this classic band boasts not so much a fanbase but more a cult of followers, and a whole culture built around that alternate world, deservingly so.
Been listening to them quite a lot while crafting this... only seemed right I use the chance to learn more via an internet radio station dedicated to them that features selected concert recordings. Quite a lot of stoned noodling, some brutal vocals sometimes, but when they do manage to hit a groove, it is a special kind musical magic. So far I'm seeing them generally as one of those "kinda had to be there" sort of bands. This morning I also received some curated selections that are WAY better than what I've been sorting through already, showing significantly more musicality - so THANK YOU for that, sir!
Band worked a long time, since '65-95, surviving members still seem to get together from time to time. They boast a rich and deep catalog of representative iconography which is makes it fun for me. Here a very light yellow dye to take the vegtan leather from pink to this slightly warmer tone now I am resist coating these dancing bears, and the dye-painted coloured bits before I move in with another base coat of dyes, which will keep them a nice golden brown, and preserve the multi-coloured collars.
Though somewhat familiar to my eyes, a week ago, I had no idea at all what the below "logo" graphic represented. Now, I've learned about the Steal Your Face logo, and the "He's Gone" song the band famously dedicated to a former manager. The goal was to keep the STF logo colours muted, so I used dye that was highly diluted then resist coated it. There is also legend and various meaning interpreted behind how many points are on the lightning bold. Far out, man!
This morning I bursted the edges very carefully, with increasingly darker hand-mixed dyes... and this is where I decided I was done and quit before oiling it. Will oil it one more time then once that sets in for a few hours I will clearcoat it to preserve it where it is mostly, then use antiqueing paste wit some nice dark gunk to highlight the border tooling along the edges, decorated cut marks etc. It also will darken it all just a tad, help blend everything together and give this strap a more 'lived-in' feel. If you recognize the Sienna burst strat here, you may be able to guess who's asked me to make this
