Keeper of Secrets
Locked in an eternal battle with his own duality, the Minotaur struggles with his existence as both man and beast. He dwells in the realm of the unknown, torn between law and chaos, good and evil, this life and the one beyond. To face him, one must confront their own subconscious—and all of the dark secrets that dwell within.
For this commission, I balance the forces of light and dark and summon the Minotaur helmet to our world.
Animal. Human. God.
Making the Minotaur Helmet
The Minotaur Helmet began with a custom patterned EVA foam base. The pattern allowed extra space above the head for affixing a removable personal fan to sit inside and cool the wearer. For the eyes, four five millimeter LEDs were wired on to two six-volt battery packs affixed inside the nose. Plastic globe ornaments, painted on the inside, were used to create the eyeball shapes and diffuse the light within. Holes were then cut in the EVA foam at the neck, cheeks, mouth, and chin. These were covered with vinyl mesh for one-way visibility. This entire base was then covered in hand sculpted foam clay, applied in five batches to allow applications to dry between layering.
Once the foam clay cured fully, the surface was lightly sanded to smooth imperfections. Runes of the Elder Futhark were carved up each horn with a heat tool; one horn utilizes runes symbolizing “positive” and the other “negative” aspects, representing the Minotaur’s dual nature. The Minotaur helmet has three custom “rings,” created using leftover Worbla scraps. A with a quarter-inch grommet was also used to adorn the right ear. The bronze horn ring was a separate piece of EVA foam with a unique saying carved in runes.
Once sculpting was complete, the entire helmet was coated in three layers of Plastidip, and painted by both airbrush and hand brushed high- and low-lights. The finished Minotaur helmet measures approximately thirty inches tall, weighs less than three pounds (1.3kg). This commission was made for the Florida musician, MinΩT¤μГ. His live performances are expected to resume in Summer of 2021.
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