Such a form as grecian goldsmiths make of hammered gold and gold enamelling.

The steampunk, the 19th century, and grecian invention: a genre, a revolution, and a golden age.

Like hunter-gatherer art made with cast-off factory wares.

Interesting and beautiful.

Beautiful work on the skull, but she didn't finish that rivet on the strap.

They are very interesting. Looks like what she has done is paint real skulls and add various bits on them. I like these.

Woah, COOL i got boinged again! Thanks guys! Haha, yeah Inox busted me....i didnt cut that rivet because I kinda like the stem intact...the more metal the better, right ;) Good eye though!

The skulls are actually replica skulls painted and adorned with gears and screws. I will have a couple more coming up, I still have a coyote and a cougar that need attention so check back soon! Lots more steamy mech skull goodness on the way :)

Again thanks for posting my stuff on here guys!

thank you for using replicas

That's too bad they are replicas. I would have bought the Bear one on the spot, had it been a real skull. Have you thought about doing work with real skulls?

I have the urge to rub bug powder on its gums.

also reminds me of the work of jessica joslin...

http://www.jessicajoslin.com/jessica/index.html

Magnificent work! Thank you so much.

Th mr mntn f th wrd stmpnk lds t my wrtchng. Hw bt bnn stmpnk r pr f glsss stmpnk. Gt vr t, y r rlly wrng ths ths thng t! Hv y nthng bttr t d? Gt grp!!

I think I´m gonna be.......................ka cha ka cha ka cha .........

I likes me some steampunk as much as the next guy or gal or clockwork automaton.

That said, I have some un-cheerleaderly things to say about this and some (but by no means all) other steampunky things I've seen lately.

These skulls are painted and kit-bashed with no small amount of care, and I think the ideas and the paint jobs are nice, but I have a major complaint:

Gears are FOR something. They do stuff. They don't just sit there and not mesh with anything. I wanna see more steampunky stuff that looks like it actually does something, instead of simply having gears glued on for decoration.

And it's not tough to do that without actually building a mechanism: All you have to do is dremel or saw a notch into the skull itself, and place a gear or two so that some of the teeth protrude through the outer surface of the item, giving the suggestion that there's a lot going on inside, and making a much more satisfying steampunk item than something that has a brassy paint job and a few token gears stuck on the outside clearly not contributing to the putative function of the device.

These skulls are quite pretty, but I've seen the "I'll just glue some gears on it!" technique produce some really horrible dreck that brings the whole aesthetic down with it.

And still I applaud Miss Monster for having the gumption to actually finish the damn things, which seems to be more than I can do most times with my own art projects. So where does that put me?

Credit to Mister MooFoo for the rare legitimate critique in the always-contentious steampunk debate.

Maybe XXXXXX and Gomer Is can ask mom to explain grown-up talk to them the next time that she brings them a snack.

Haha! Thanks for the honesty MooFoo! I do like the idea of making something that actually works or moves..i think you have an excellent point. But I must admit my skill doesnt really reach into the realm of engineering or building a working steam engine or motorized object ;) I just wanted to make something pretty to hang on the wall *shrug*

LOL GomerIS...woah, what was that? Turn off the computer and take a long walk. It's going to be okay, pal! :) I'm just having fun and doing something that makes me happy. Get a grip indeed!

"17" read 12. Its OK though,sonny, just don't make too much noise or it's the card table in the basement again

Gomer, I wish you could see how hilarious it is for you to attempt to ridicule someone by asking them "Have you nothing better to do?" That is a textbook case of the pot calling the kettle black.

poor Moonie, reduced to squatting in some internet cafe pretending to be multiple juvenile delinquents

XXXXXX, you've posted four comments as your registered self. All of them have been unpleasant. You have your choice of either (1.) dropping me a note four days from now and asking to have your acocunt turned back on, or (2.) keeping your account on, but writing civil and interesting comments that have more point to them than "Nyah nyah, you're older than I am." If you take the second option, your four comments posted thus far will get switched back on. They're currently suspended.

Choose. It's up to you.

XXXXXX,

I'm 50 and speeding up. You want to know what old people do? In my case - teach yoga, design the occasional website, volunteer for multiple charities and have the good sense to speak politely to bloggers who are gracious enough to entertain me daily. You'd have to be 17 to imagine that a 50 year old would envy your youth.

give him to me....give me his tender young soul..I hunger..givve himm to meeee..............

I live in a twilight reality of orphaned posts. Like a less-well-dressed Don Quixote, I seem constantly to tilt at windmills that nobody else can see.

@ #13 Mister Moofoo
I'd love to see your example of properly constructed steampunk. Got a link? No? How about some art you've done, drawings, sketches, photos, sculptures... anything at all? Ok, how about some music you composed or even a simple performance. Mary had a little lamb?

Nothing?

hummmmm....

gears would be used by skull painting pagans as simple ornament, the most they would mean is the disk of the sky. Instead of steampunk, how about savage salvaging of lost steampunk culture?

Would it be cheating just to put a piece of dry ice in it?

Cheers, guys! Thanks for the backup!

I like Takuan's idea! Way to use one's imagination...that's the whole point of making these ( well besides just because it's really fun). I like to see people construct their own interpretations and stories behind things like this. Very cool!

me ole grammar school

http://www.blairerickson.com/bman/Thunderdome.jpg

American Science & Surplus used to sell a replica coyote skull for under $20. (Other places still sell them, for a lot more.)

I had one on my desk for a few years. I never thought of "hacking" or decorating it.

mm, coyotes.... It might be Changer and then you're REALLY fucked...no forgiveness there.. I've stalked a few but the understanding was no eating my family members and the pond was OK to drink at.. I never forget the silent appearance and disappearance on tinder dry hog fuel with nary a crackle

Yarr, stick to replicas. If you want the real thing you best be into blood feud.

Jeez, I could get a coyote skull from the empty lot across the street. I can barely sleep at night from the howling. They're everywhere.

good, let them howl

So, do you stay inside during sunshowers?

"what I call the void is where nothing exists. It is about things outside man's knowledge. Of course the void does not exist. By knowing what exist, you can know that which does not exist. That is the void.

People in this world look at things mistakenly, and think that what they do not understand must be the void. This is not the true void. It is confusion."

Maybe I'm off, because admittedly I don't see a whole lot of steampunk items, but I don't know how this fits. It was said to be made to look pretty on the wall, which it certainly accomplishes. But isn't the steampunk idea that it's stuff from an alternate victorian era reality were the stuff of today is made with what they had back then? Well I'm pretty sure that in any time period you go to, skulls are skulls. That's pretty much it. Unless this is supposed to be the metal-worked skull of robotic cattle-imitating machines. But I'm not sure why those would have been built.

Or maybe I've missed the point. I feel as if I have.

Steampunk is an aesthetic. Trying to pigeon hole it is a waste of time.

shit, people,do you want to have fun or not?

hy bngbng, why th cnsrshp f my prvs pst? t ws cvl, t ws nfrmtv, nd t ws hmrs. t ls ws pnt f vw tht dffrd frm bngbng's. s tht prblm nw?

Your last post was on January 22nd. Whatever you posted here must not have gone through.

t dd g thrgh, mny hrs g. ntrstng wht lttl hstrcl rvsn l 1984's nprsn cn ccmplsh.

sppsng tht ths ct f mdrtn, sch s t ws, ws d t qlm wth my lnkng t nthr wb st, 'll jst sggst tht ntrstd prsns:

hv lk t Tthpst fr Dnnr's blg pst frm Mrch 7. t pks rlty stck t BngBng's stmpnk nfttn. m nt ffltd. jst msd.

Beats me. I don't press the red button: I just watch the mushroom cloud.

cnsdrng th xtnt t whch BB hs cncrnd tslf wth sss f fr spch nd spprssv ctn, thr s rng f mtlly ssrd dstrctn t t..

pantelope don't be so quick to jump to conclusions.

nn, tht sms lk hstly drwn cnclsn t m.

w'll s. myb ths pst wll ls dsppr. f nt, njy:

http://blg.tthpstfrdnnr.cm/jrnl/jrnl.php?sr=tthpst&d=812&rdcmmnt=1

lessee.. a posting history of total five, four of which are about a missing post...

you know what I do if a post of mine disappears?

I still really Miss Monsters' work!

Mr. Moofoo, of course, raised a very good and valid question about the gears, but in the end, I suppose that art is art- be it rational or non-sensical.

Steampunk, in all of it's varied manifestations, is wonderful because it so intentionally "Anti-Mid Century Modern". It is a necessary reaction to the tyranny of the Charles and Ray Eames, "groupthink" that has dominated every single design blog on the net.

missing word in my post...."like"

tkn, hp nvr t dvlp whtvr skll tht my b. mdrtrs dltng cvl, crtcl psts s wrth dscssn. prsmng, tht s, tht y ntnd cntn t s BB s frm. dn't. gz n w pn my 6 (r 7) pst lgcy.

you know what I do if a post of mine disappears?

Eat pie?

These kinds of things are almost always due to a fault in the chair to keyboard interface. Don't worry though. I'm sure that Google Labs is working on a replacement.

Pantelope: I remember seeing the link you posted in comment #42 originally posted in between either Inox's #2 comment or Noen's #3 comment, and what is now MissMonster's #4 comment. So yeah, it was there but was deleted at some point.

in other words; get over yourself. Please.

These kinds of things are almost always due to a fault in the chair to keyboard interface.

I'm pretty sure that you could get a law out of that.

I like pie.

I'm going to roll around on the floor now.

Pantelope, I don't think you can possibly be reading Boing Boing's comment threads, or you would have noticed that every (euphemism) that gets disemvowelled or has his comments disappear does the following:

1. Describes himself as having been civil. (Alternately, complains that he didn't use any obscene language or personal attacks.)

2. Describes the content of his disemvowelled or suspended comment as legitimate criticism.

3. Laments the end of Boing Boing's commitment to freedom of speech.

4. Drops dark hints about how his real crime was offering a point of view that differs from Boing Boing's.

Optionally:

5. Re-posts some or all of the original content.

6. Posts one or more comments which he predicts will be disemvowelled.

In short, you're a cliche from start to finish. It's a real pity. If you'd meant to do a parodic imitation of a disemvowelled poster, I'd be awarding you a prize right now. Instead, you get some conveniently numbered replies:

1. If I thought your original comment was civil, it would still be there. It would also still be there if I thought it was witty.

2. The fact that you've declared that thingy on your website to be "legitimate criticism" doesn't mean Boing Boing is obliged to sponsor a link to your site. If the link to your site is the central point for you, then there's a word for what you're doing.

3. (Why do I have to explain this every time?) Your comment going away has nothing to do with freedom of speech, or Boing Boing's (unchanging) commitment to same. Freedom of speech is your right to say what you want on your own website, and control your own content there. It doesn't mean you have that same rights on someone else's website.

4. Given that Boing Boing's comment threads are full of comments that disagree with the opinions in the entries, I should think you'd avoid embarrassment by abandoning this line of reasoning.

5-6. A temporary situation.

T,

Is that a working draft of your soon-to-be-released manifesto? I'm thinking of writing an essay on how not to get disemvoweled.

hi Theresa.

1. i don't claim free speech here. i claim that BoingBoing pretends to champion it while silencing dissent on its own forums. can you do it? of course you can. your sandbox. that doesn't make it any less of a hypocrisy.

II. as for cliche -- the real cliche is the entire cycle of dissent and moderation, here and in the universe outside BoingBoing. it's absolutely inane and shouldn't have to be discussed, but here we are.

C. that aint my website. welcome to the Wild, Wild Web.

that makes 8 posts. man i'm a sucker. dear Theresa, do me a favor and delete my account.

No, no, really, just stab me in the heart. My soul is dead anyway. I can't live in a world of hypocrisy and comment moderation.

What, are you channeling Frances Farmer?

You know, Moderator, you can't please all of the people all of the time. I for one think that when people have to suffer needless insults it's good to hear that someone else in here has no problem with your editing skills at all (like me). It only took a short time, but I quickly realized that the editing that happens here is both strong and forgiving. To ask any more from a blog moderator is unreasonable. You keep the peace very well, thank you.