Kitsch and Vintage Propping.

A few small items can make a huge difference in an interior.
Left to right, we have:

a box of turn of the 20th century glass plate negatives, an early 1960's Florida transistor radio, a pre-war copy of Macbeth with a souvenir Eiffel Tower (purchased 2 years ago!) a vintage silver plate trophy cup, an original 1960's plastic Smiths kitchen clock, an early edition of Oscar Wilde's Fairy Tales, a photocopied picture of the pope from a theatre set, a prop Mayan sacrificial knife (also made for a play!) a 1947 nickel silver football trophy cup, a 1980's Royal Navy Zippo lighter and a collection of original 18th and 19th century novels and poetry. No item cost more than £50.00. Many were found or given, the cheapest was probably the Zippo lighter (£1.00 at Jubilee market http://www.jubileemarket.co.uk/) and the most expensive, clearly, the original illustrated Oscar Wilde Fairy Tales.

I personally like to mix original vintage items with home made ones. Both support each other and help shift the focus from one item to the next.

Left to right:
Keane's Ethnology (Cambridge University Press), Smith's Galic Antiquities (an 18th century translation of the poems of Ossian), Sorcellerie dans les pays de mission (Belgian treaty on Witchcraft from 1938). On top is a Victorian silver sugar bowl (Peter Reimer Hinnerup, Copenhagen, 1841) with a sprig of Scottish heather. Behind is a theatre set repro of Erasmus Darwin's portrait by Joseph Wright of Derby. To the left, a fake Egyptian mummy's head made using the principle described here http://kaisercalavera.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/ebay-skull-painted.html

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New range of cushions!

Our latest additions!

Every cushion starts as a 2 dimensional drawing.

 Wool patterns are appliqued with our stunning 1960's Singer 99K sewing machine. Our current fabric of choice is Italian lambswool.

These will be presented for the first time at Paris' next DIY Market.
Check it out here!
http://www.diy-market.fr/


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How to make a mummy's head





How to make a mummy's head!

Heads usually start off with a skull. This is important to achieve a high degree of realism. It also makes it an art of finding. Because the head is made by multiplying several layers of "tissue" over the skull, it is near impossible to predict what the head will end up looking like.

This skull is a vynil anatomical which was purchased on the cheap on ebay (Where else?)

It had originally been painted with horrid red and white marble effect. 

After stripping the marble effect with Stypit, which turned it orange, the skull was then repainted bone colour (Titanium White+Yellow Ochre)

Ears come next. 

For this, I started sketching customer's ears at Crobar (obviously with their consent... Drawing peoples ears without their consent could potentially lead to embarrassing situations!)

I used DAS to model the ears, but then switched to FIMO Ultralight for the face, hoping that it would be easier to work. This turned out to be a mistake. It you have to do it, DAS is the way to go! It is just as hard to work as Fimo, will come off and apart like Fimo, but will not crack...Unlike Fimo.

Before proceeding with the facial construction, the ears and eye sockets are filled with textiles, just like a real one. This will make building up the nose and eyelids a lot easier.

The facial construction is then operated is several phases, to allow each layer to dry before applying the next.

Painting then requires a good 4 to 5 layers, starting with the lightest to the darkest. Paint needs to be applied thinly in order to allow previous layers to come through. In this case, the fist layer was Ochre Yellow and Burnt Umber (mostly yellow) followed by Burnt Umber and Cadmium Red (mostly red) with shadows accentuated in brown (Burnt Umber and Ultramarine), plus a splotch of white here and there for good measure. The outer layer is super watered down Burnt Umber and Ultramarine.

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Note traces of the marble effect on the back.

It's better to draw as many ears as possible to give you the option
 to find the best type to suit your skull.

Ears are fitted on and checked for alignment. 

Evostik probably makes the best ear glue to date. Highly recommended!

Ears in position with nose and eye socket filed with junk textile...
just like a real one!

Phase 1 of facial construction completed.

Phase 2. Much work is still needed on the nose and lips as well as to improve
the overall texture of the skin.

After completion of the facial construction, the whole head is primed.

Second layer of paint. Note how the first layer shows through.

Shading over the second layer of paint. 

A few layers later and the head is pretty much finished.
Note how the eyes and nostrils are filled with new textile which has to be
dyed and painted.

Family portrait!

Although still extremely marginal in the UK, the Rock-a-Billy subculture has experienced a tremendous growth over the last 20 years, partly encouraged by a plethora of Hollywood movies systematically set in the 40's and 50's, combined with the Japanese movement of systematically replicating original period items and clothing and a reaction to the Rave and the Rap scene. Although it may be hard to disagree with Philip Larkin when he wrote: "They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to but they do," we may have to add insult to injury by saying they they also dressed better, listened to better music and probably had more fun.
What is also fascinating with the current R-a-B movement, is that is is cross-generational, inclusive without being proselyte and not necessarily nostalgic, since it practices a strange form of materialism that puts on the same pedestal the real, the inspired and the replica.


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Some of our cushions selection!

We are offering a growing selection of cushions in Italian wool or Harris Tweed. 16"X16" with anti allergenic filling! 

As with all of our creations, these are inspired by the typical imagery of the Rock-a-Billy subculture, super kitsch but high quality in some of the best quality materials available.

We like it edgy yet cozy, high end yet just a touch tacky, complete with ugly lampshades and leopard prints on the walls!

 More to come soon.

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We are born!

Welcome to Kaiser Calavera, a blog to promote our line of mostly Kitsch-a-Billy and junk inspired homeware and other propping for all you lucky people!

All rights reserved. All content is copyright of Fabrice Arfi.