aboutme

To those of you who are interested, my name is Vance T Rudzinskas, and I am the proprietor of Bad Faerie Productions. I am simply a one man operation, so all things are handled by me: sculpting, mold making, casting and shipping the products that I offer for sale.

So why is it I do the things I do, you might ask. That's an easy question to answer. I love sculpting and I feel I was blessed with this God given talent, so why not share it with those who like what I do as well. I do not consider myself an artist. That term is used way too loosely these days. I am simply a person who likes to play with clay so I call myself a sculptor.

My methods of sculpting may be considered by some unorthodox. I do not have a studio to work from and the tools of my trade are nothing more than a few wooden dowels, that I have sanded into shape to meet my needs, and toothpicks or anything else I might be able to use when applying my craft. Or maybe it is because very seldom I use reference material when creating the figures I do. I am sure it would make things much easier. I guess that is something I should consider.

When sculpting, I always start with the head. It is a great deal easier to proportion a head to a body than the other way around. More often than not, the head sculpt is what dictates to me what the figure is going to be; unless of course, I have the subject matter planned out ahead of time, like Jessica Rabbit. I knew what I wanted to do with that one.

As you can guess from simply looking at the work that I have done, I have a fondness for the female form and cartoon characters. This is what I enjoy sculpting most of all.

Like most people who are involved in the "wonderful world of the garage kit industry," whether they be the kit producers or the ones who enjoy building and painting the model kits, like myself, chances are it all started way back with the aurora styrene plastic monster model kits. I remember my first kit. It was a Frankenstein that my mom brought for me from Mount Vernon Hobbies in New York. I was a wee lad at the time. Not only did she buy it for me, she also built and painted it for me as well. If I remember correctly, she did a nice job on it too. How I wish I still had it.

As far back as I can remember, I loved toys and model kits (well that has not changed even in my adulthood) and I remember looking at them and wondering how they came to be. I had no idea that someone actually had to sculpt them. I was clueless.

Call me the proverbially geek (I wear that title proudly). When I was a child, while all the other kids were outside playing sports, chances are I was either drawing, constructing something out of odds and ends, or playing with modeling clay or my MEGO dolls. I am sure you get the idea where this is going. Early on I knew this is what I wanted to do. When I was in the fifth grade, I was drawing nude pictures of Snow White and selling them to classmates for three bucks a pop; hence the reason for the naughty princess figures. I guess I was looking to pay homage to my youth.

I had no formal training in sculpting. I was self-taught except for the one year in Harry S. Truman High School in the Bronx in Mrs. Corman's art class, where we used terracotta clay that had to be fired in a kiln. I sculpted a Darth Vader bust and Yoda bust. Mrs. Corman was very critical about that Yoda bust. It had to be perfect since she was a die-hard Yoda fan. Thanks Mrs. Corman for showing me the way.