HIERONIMUS BOSCH MYSTICAL FISH

There are more famous dutch painters than Rembrandt and Van Gogh. In the renaissance period (1450) Hieronimus Bosch (baptised Jheronimus van Aken) was born in Den Bosch, who became famous as The Devil Painter. Several haunting, hallucinating paintings and drawings survived the centuries, depicting all kinds of monstrosities and strange imaginations. Most famous is the Garden of Earthly Delights. Most of the meaning of his symbolism is unclear, but it is generally assumed that most symbols refer to a proper lifestyle. In a similar way I create objects out of waste material, as we waste (and buy) too much. In admiration and to honour this painter I created a automaton sculpture in the style of Hieronimus Bosch

materials needed:

1. plywood 10 x 25 cm 4mm thick
2. small woodblocks 3X3X2 cm
3. empty groceries boxes
4. paper glue
5. Hot melting glue
6. wire 2,5 mm, about 40 cm
7. wire 1,5 mm, about 200 cm
8. steelspringwire 20 cm
9. 8 perler/ Hama beads, tight fitting the 2,5 mm wire

tools:

1. scissors normal, small and extra strong
2. glue gun
3. pliers for bending wire
4. saw
5. drill 3 mm

You will need a small piece of plywood approx. 10x25 cm. Cut off the corners as can be seen on photo's and drawing. Make 4 woodblocks of a 2x3 cm slat, about 3 cm length. Drill hole to fit the axis. Cut the smaller wire into 3 pieces of 40 ald one of 30 cm. 2 Pieces will need a spiral winding in the middle. The other (40 and 30 cm) will need a spiral winding at one end. All wires are to long and will be cut the right lengt later in time. Bend a piece of ( garden-) wire, 2,5mm ø in the shape shown in the drawing. Make sure the straight pieces remain in a straight line. You will need to string the woodblocks, beads and small wire on the wire as you proceed bending.

Draw a global fish shape on a piece of carton, with tail curled upwards. If the carton is not big enough, glue pieces together. The bottomside remains flat fitting on the piece of plywood. Glue this fish silhouette in the middle of the plywood.Cut strips of carton, approx 2,5 cm wide. Fold the in half and pull the over the edge of your table to give them a bit of curl. Fit the strips over the fish silhouette and glue the ends on the rim of the plywood.

Collect a few blueish cartons ( frozen fish packaging and chocolate packaging called sea fruit) and cut them in 3 cm circles. Cover the body, starting at the tail. Do not cover the head area.You will need to cut an opening in the fish back to allow the ship go in and out the body. Pull the center wire through that opening.

The ships body is made of an rectangular piece of carton (frozen pizza packaging). Fold it in half and glue the open side. Make sure it fits in the opening of the fish body. Add the bow and back part of the ship to get a sixteenth century silhouette. Fit it in the fish, and bend the wire so you can attach the ship to it. Add a deck mand make a church tower of a small and big matchbox. I decorated the tower with several layers of carton, and cut out gotic windows. You can add some sailers. To cover the opening between boat and fish, cut out a wave shape and glue it on the fish, leaving enough room for the boat to move up and down. Check if the boat can move.

The face is made from a rectangular piece of carton, fold in haf, with two cuts to make it 3 dimensional. Look at the pictures. Cut out big eyes, and from the inside fill the eyes with black paper, a small white triangle and a ring of color.Add a white ring to the outside of the eye. The jaw is made from a strip of carton, folded in half. Cut a small slit on the fold and bend two triangles inward. Glue the triangles to each other. Cut the jaw somewhat smaller to the cheek side. Make a small wire ring and glue it to the inside on the triangles in front to connect the wire that will move the jaw later. Connect the jaw by punching holes and threading a piece of wire through.

In Bosch paintings objects often have legs or feet, and parts of humans seem randomly placed in the picture. In a similar way I decided to give the fish human arms and chicken feet. The arms are made of small cilinders, witch are glued together. The wrist side is made narrower by making a slit and glue sides together. Hands are added from small rectangular pieces with slit. Thumbs are added seperatly. Then the arms are threaded on the wire and secured by bending the wire back at the wrist. Make sure the arms can move freely in a "swimming" motion.

The chicken feet are made from small strips of carton glued in a moon shape. Three toes forward, one backward. A small strip forms the leg, glued around the wire at the rear side of the fish

To add a "Pilot" to the fisch make a little cone from a rectangle for body and rolls for arms and legs. Cut arms and legs on an angle to create knees and elbows. Fit a small roll into the top of the body for neck, cut it on an angle and add a tiny cone for head. A small strips forms his head witch is closed with a circle on top. Glue the pilot on top of the fish. You may have to cut the body in the right shape to fit on the fish back.

To add movement I glued a piece of springy steelwire to the jaw and added a circle (moon or light) on top

Close the belly with a strip of carton, cut in shape to not obstruct movement of arms and legs. Add scales to finish.

I added gills an changed the tail somewhere during the progress. To hang the fish i made two hooks attached to the fish body, just in front an after the boat.