For the last number of years now society has had an infatuation with personal health, and from eating organic to going green, a notable change has been made in the ways that companies advertise their goods.  This has been highly evident in the fast-food industry, seemingly since “Supersize Me”, the movie, was released.  But more and more the health incentive is making its way on to shelves and in to our cabinets and refrigerators, and it’s got an interesting pseudo-psychology behind it.  A new design of the times?

Take for instance, the brand new Pepsi packaging design compared to it’s predecessor.  The last design was busy, in-your-face, full of pattern, swanky fonts, etc.  Perhaps at that time we were a bored society, longing for more entertainment on our soda cans.  However, the new design is quite the opposite.  The approach is a minimalistic design, full of white space, very structured, and somewhat takes on the characteristics of a prescription label.  Everywhere I look these days I see this type of “clinical” design.  Vitamin Water, potato chip packaging, even shredded cheese.  All of the packaging is designed to look (and perhaps trick) you in to buying it for its health qualities.  Why?  We have a general mindset that medicine is good and medicine helps us.  Interesting – so now I should buy a certain brand of cheese over the other because it will help me?  Don’t get me wrong, I much prefer these new designs over the old, but it’s a very visually obvious thing happening in the design world right now.  We are literally seeing the end of one design era and a the beginning of a new one, it’s evident every time we go grocery shopping.   Kinda cool huh?

Posted by: Samantha

Hey Everybody,

My name is Marc Dams and I’m the model shop lead here at Taylor. I’m writing today to fill you in on a recent molding trip. This molding trip wasn’t our normal molding excursion involving rocks and trees.  Oh no, this was myself and two other exhibit artists smearing blue goo on eleven half naked Marines! I’m sure some would jump at this opportunity but this was pretty uncomfortable for everyone involved. The life casting process isn’t easy for the model or the molder.  I have to give props to the brave Marines who made it through the process as well as our crew. The combined effort of everyone really made it a success.

The Marine Corp Museum staff set us up in their shop for the week which worked out better than I expected. I really didn’t know what to prepare for since I’ve only done off-site life casting once before and that wasn’t the best experience. The first experience involved me casting a head mold in fiberglass on the floor board of my rental car. Poor car didn’t smell so hot after that one. This experience was 100% better than that. The shop provided was just what we needed for our operation including a shower for the models.

The Marine models were a bunch of real troopers. They did what was asked of them without hesitation.  This included large amounts of Vaseline in some odd places and shaving whatever we wanted smooth.  We don’t often get models that accommodating.

The trip was long and grueling but because of the effort by all it was worth it. We have everything we need to produce our best figures.

Thanks to everyone involved,

Marc

It’s hard to decide where to begin when discussing our busy days in administration. We currently have several projects and events up our sleeves to keep us busy in-between our regular paperwork duties. In a couple weeks, we will be attending the Parkland Community College Job Fair in hopes of recruiting Exhibit Artists.  Our current openings are listed in the “About” section of our website but we are always accepting applications to keep on file.

A project we recently started teams us with the design department to produce an organizational chart to display pictures of each employee along with their title and job description. The purpose of this chart is to give new employees a chance to become familiar with their fellow co-workers and recognize the connection between each department.

In mid-April, Taylor Studios will be hosting an after-hours party for the Rantoul Chamber of Commerce which we are currently busy planning for as well.  We are hoping to curb some of the curiosity people may have about Taylor Studios by showing them what goes on behind the scenes and welcoming them into our new, in-progress digs.

Not only is there always something new in the shop and the design department, but also there’s always something new with us non-creative types, and it’s not all paperwork.

Posted by: Jessica

A couple weeks ago, three of our fabricators journeyed to Virginia to mold several active duty Marines selected for a project at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.  The Marines selected for this project were chosen because they have been in similar situations and their physical characteristics resemble the WWI Marines they portray.  Our scope of work included sculpting 12 full-body life-cast figures in various poses.

Marc, Shawn, and Curt worked long hours in a building with little power and even less heat to complete the molding process.  They went through nine vats of Vaseline, 12 boxes of latex gloves, a mile’s worth of bandages, and many gallons of their slush mixture from which the molds were made.  To top it off, they experienced the area’s worst snow storm of the year and at one point, had to push a car out of the snow so they could get back to their hotel.

All in all it was a fun and productive trip our guys won’t soon forget.  I’m sure the Marines they worked with feel the same as they were the ones covered in rubber goop sitting in the same position for long periods of time.

Thanks to the Museum for giving us the opportunity and thanks to the Marines for their cooperation, patience, and the job they do every day.

To see progress photos from their trip, check out the following link:

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/gQljdLNmxUn/Marines+Pose+Cast+Figures+National+Museum

To learn more about one of the Marines involved in the process, check out his blog:

http://kjbattles.blogspot.com/2009/03/casting-call.html

Working at Taylor Studios can start to seem like living the Geoff Mack song “I’ve been everywhere.”  It’s one of the great aspects of this job. The travel log for the last year alone is something else. We’ve been to… Lakeland, FL; Prairie Grove, AR; Fort St. Catherine, Bermuda; Coloma, CA; Albany, NY; New Orleans, LA; Bloomington, IL; St. Joseph, MO; New York, NY; Metropolis, IL; Gettysburg, PA; Tulsa, OK; Richmond, VA; Oranjestad, Aruba; Grand Portage, MN; Fargo, ND; and Tulsa, OK.

Working on the jobs in the shop for several weeks to several months builds up a lot of anticipation about the install location. It’s one thing to read about an area but another to be there. In one four month period I learned that:

1. Yes, the alligators will get off the trail before you get there.
2. There is a great two-track trail on the north side of Aruba but you’ve got to have a 4X4 if you want to avoid getting stuck.
3. 500 feet of elevation change in the Sierra Nevadas can mean an additional 8 inches of snow in about 4 hrs
4. There really is a huge statue of Superman in Metropolis, IL.

Every install has its surprises some are great fun, some are…less fun, but the variety is always amazing. So, I wonder what the next year has in store?

Posted by:  Michael H.