Please don't squeeze the...uh...Charmin!

Here's sketch of the next costume we'll be making. Can't tell you who it's for yet, though.

Ah, the noble deeds of war!

Travis brought this in, torn from some magazine. I thought it was quite hilarious.

"By your command!"

This is also from my friend Rob's collection, a CYLON from the original Battlestar Galactica series. It is NOT just a display piece, it IS, in fact, a costume. He's worn it a couple of times but it's extremely difficult to move in and vision is terrible. However, it does have that wicked red eye that moves back and forth, a sound f/x chip that makes that eerie "warble" sound, and a voice synthesizer. I would say that it makes you sound like Dr. Stephen Hawking but the effect is much more sinister than that. In fact, Hawking would be well-advised to get one of these babies for his own voice synthesizer, it would make him sound waaaaay cool! As it is, he sounds like on of those Cybermen from the old Dr. Who series.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing!"

This life-size Vader figure resides in a VAST collection of movie memorabelia belonging to my good friend Robert Withrow. The damn thing stands well over seven feet tall and all the lights on his chest panel and belt light up and blink. Imagining oneself as Luke Skywalker facing off against this behemoth wielding a red lightsaber is intimidating, to say the least. And I absolutely refuse to accept the image of Hayden Christensen under this incredible costume!!!!

The Big Man himself!

Yes, that's me shaking hands with the Voice of Darth Vader himself, JAMES EARL JONES, without question one of the greatest performers to ever walk this earth! I was so fortunate to have met him at a Verizon function at the Embassy Suites last year. Since I was at the time a member of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, I landed tickets to see him speak. HOWEVER, it was due to some quick-talkin' work by my good friend Robert Withrow that enabled us to attend the VIP function where we met him personally and had our pics taken with him. While everyone else rambled on about his performance in "Matewan" (a film made in West Virginia some years ago), I lauded his performance in a wonderful film called "Cry the Beloved Country" in which he co-starred with the great Richard Harris. He couldn't believe I had actually seen it. Let me say that as soon as he opened his mouth to say, "Hello", the deep resonance of the man's voice just OVERPOWERS YOU! To think he uttered the line, "The Force is with you, young Skywalker...but you are not a Jedi yet!"

Super Sean!

This is my 5 year-old son, Sean. Two Halloweens ago he wanted to be Dollar Dog, a character we routinely make here at the Studio, so I whipped this little version up for him, stuck some ears onto his Superman cap, and he was all set! He got candy aplenty!

"The Sculptor" Episode III

Another crazy costume

It's......a YOGA MAT! A purple yoga mat named "Yogo", made for Streta Power Yoga in Massachusets.

Convention Studio shots

I finally got the shots taken by the professionals at the NCA convention. That's Cindy and I in our Civil War garb, me in my pirate outfit (I lacked a proper pirate hat), and Cindy in her pirate wench digs. The tattoo on her leg is not real, it's one of those nifty henna tattoos that eventually wears off. However, the little cat-o-ninetails she's holding IS real!

Chatty TEETH

One of the craziest costumes we've every made, this enormous set of Chatty Teeth was made for Triple R Dentures in Spokane, Washington.