February 23, 2004
February 24, 2004, Pamelina H - First Contact (CP)
Hi, everyone.
Pamelina and I got together over the phone - we're off to a great start. She was very congenial, and our conversation led to what I think will be a truly rewarding experience.
We shared ideas, and she promised to collaborate further with me as the work progressed. Now, with phone #'s in hand, the Master Built will go forward. Can't wait!
Claudette
February 21, 2004
February 21, 2004, Rock and Roll (MP)
Pam H. contacted us today to indicate that she was in possession of the pictures of Claudette, and , not only that, but that she had selected one of them as a favorite to ultimately use in her depiction of Claudette on the body of the guitar. Pamelina wastes no time!! She rocks! And she is ready to roll on!
Keeping you posted...
Mike
February 19, 2004
February 19, 2004, The Many Faces of Eve (MP)
In attempting to comply with Pamalina H.'s request, all hell broke loose today. It was the photo shoot from hell! Pam wanted some pics of Claudette, from here on referred to as Satanic One, to possibly use her likeness in the "Fendering Rendering." I love that idea.
But, yesterday was not the optimum time for Satanic One to pose, so the shoot was deferred until today, when the planets were properly aligned. Translation: minor facial blemish maskable.
I was given a miniscule amount of time in which to capture the essence of the rose. After all, dinner was burning. Delicious, by the way!
Anyway, the photos were obtained and sent to Pam H. where they will be meticulously examined and then, in all likelihood, placed in that ubiquitous file entitled trash. I love her all the same. (I had to say that). Joking. (Not about loving her). A comment about my photographic skills, not the subject.
Smiles...MIke
February 16, 2004
February 16, 2004, Eavesdropping (MP)
With great stealth, I crouched just outside the room where THE conversation was taking place. The long awaited reparté between Claudette and Pamalina was unfolding right in front of my ears. All was going swimmingly - giggles, pleasantries, exchanges of vital statistics (ages, etc), and of course, recipies (I jest). Ideas were bandied about like so many shuttlecocks flying across the badmitten net we all had in the backyards of our youth. Claudette served, Pam H. returned service - what a match!! In the end, a photograph of my wife was requested so as to possibly be included in the proposed art work. END OF MATCH!!!! Pam H. was the winner. A photograph!!! From around the corner, with my eyes closed, it was easy to "see" the grin on Claudette's face. Her picture or likeness emblazing the facade of the guitar - well, it dosen't get any better than that.
As I crept away from my vantage point, I was brought back down from the high I was on when I heard Pam H. going over the financial arrangements that she and I had previously discussed. A bargain at twice the price. After all, for a very few moments, I was Bond - Mike Bond.
February 05, 2004
February 5, 2004, Pamelina H's "New Texas" Stratocaster (TW)
Since posting earlier today, Pamelina H kindly sent me the three images below of the "New Texas" Stratocaster she's working on at the moment for the Fender Custom Shop. First time I've seen an Art Guitar "in progress".
Many thanks, Pamelina.
February 5, 2004, Pamelina H's Site to Help Document "La Claudette" (TW)
Pamelina H has added a new feature to her site - a new page on which she will preview works in progress, including "La Claudette". Of course, it's too soon for anything to be up on Pamelina's page yet regarding La Claudette, but once Pamelina H and Claudette have made progress on the design, I'm sure we'll get a glimpse.
Links:
Pamelina H's website: Pamelina
Pamelina H's "New" Page: New
The "New" page currently features two works in progress - "Old and New Texas". SCND photographer, Brent Peters, was at Pamelina's studio a week or so ago and took some great shots of her at work on them, which will be presented in an upcoming SCND article about Pamelina H and the Fender Custom Shop.
February 03, 2004
February 3, 2004, The Apple (MP)
"The Apple"?? I agree, what the heck is that all about? But---remember Eve, you know the one, in the Garden. That's my Claudette. Sitting there, all cozy and snug, just waiting to be tempted by the devil----ME!!!
I'm tellin' you, this is not easy. A non guitar junky being coerced into baring her soul to the likes of Pamelina H., so as to put a design theme together for a piece of guitar art that is appearing to her to be as daunting a task as designing the new World Trade Center. Whoa!!!!!
But, alas and alac, communications have begun between these two heavy weights. I can't believe I phrased it that way, into the basket my head is headed!!!!! But, you get the idea-----ice has been broken, and from a man's perspective, some sort of progress can be anticipated.
From the Garden-----Mike
February 3, 2004, Fender Custom Shop and Art Guitar Background (TW)
Email sent today to Claudette and Mike.
Claudette: Put together some info regarding Fender Custom Shop Art Guitars thinking it might give you a better idea of the process and the possibilities.
The Fender company has been around since 1946. They have and still make two major models that have made them famous - the Stratocaster and the Telecaster. All of Mike's guitars are Stratocasters (the Stratocaster was introduced in 1954, making 2004 the Strat's 50th Anniversary). In 1987, Fender started a new production branch it called "The Custom Shop". It was founded by two Fender employees, John Page and Michael Stevens (these gentlemen built two of the guitars in Mike's collection - the double-neck instrument [the first official Custom Shop guitar] by Michael Stevens and the 1988 "Mary Kaye" Strat, the first Custom Shop instrument sold to the public) by John Page and Michael Stevens. The Custom Shop was started in order to build custom instruments that couldn't be made on the production line, primarily for famous recording artists. It quickly expanded into the making of unique instruments for the general public. Today, the Custom Shop has between 30-40 employees (maybe more) and employs several well known guitar makers (luthiers) who are called "Master Builders" (or, Senior Master Builders, depending upon tenure). If a customer wants an instrument that is outside of what the Fender production line can create, the customer orders a Custom Shop guitar that will be built by a Master Builder. Fender calls its Custom Shop, "The Dream Factory". They will, literally, make any sort of guitar a customer can imagine. Such instruments are called Master Built guitars. Some of the Master Built guitars require the services of contract artists, such as Pamelina H. When a Master Built instrument is essentially "art" oriented, it is known as an "Art Guitar". Many different types of artistic techniques can be applied to the construction of an Art Guitar, such as the painting done by Pamelina H, the wood carving done by George Amicay, the inlay work of Ron Thorn, and the airbrush artwork of Dan Schultz. These artists are brought into the project by the Master Builder who is actually building the guitar. Probably the best way to get a feel for the possibilities of an Art Guitar is to look at the instruments created in conjunction with the Cleveland, Ohio, charity promotion, GuitarMania. This News Desk article will provide some background on GuitarMania: ARTICLE. This link will take you directly to a photo gallery of GuitarMania Art Guitars: GUITARMANIA GALLERY. You'll recognize one of Mike's guitars - PROUD. The Fender Custom Shop is recreating some of the GuitarMania instruments, such as PROUD. They are painted by Pamelina H.
As you know, Mike wants to have Fender Custom Shop Master Builder Todd Krause create an Art Guitar in your honor. The instrument will also serve as the Custom Shop Art Guitar of Mike's collection. While PROUD is an excellent Art Guitar, the thinking was to have the Custom Shop build one to spec incorporating the artwork of various artists that, over the years, have become well known contributors to famous Custom Shop Art Guitars. In a sense, an attempt to build the "ultimate" Art Guitar - an instrument that would showcase the possibilities and skills of these well-known artists.
Pamelina H: the best known Fender Custom Shop artist. Pamelina has had a hand in virtually every famous Custom Shop Art Guitar, including the three most famous, the Playboy, the Harley, and the Monterey (you can see examples of the artwork of those three instruments and more on Pamelina's website). Pamelina is famous for both her actual artwork on the instruments and her pre-execution design work. Ron Thorn: a superb inlay artist whose work is often featured in guitar magazines and catalogs. Although "inlay" work is most often used on the fretboard, he also does stunning work on the bodies of guitars. An excellent example of his work can be seen in this News Desk article: Koicaster. George Amicay: look at any of Mike's Strats and you'll see that the Stratocaster has a standard shape - body, neck and headstock. However, it doesn't have to be that way. George Amicay is a superb wood carver who can do two things - alter the basic body shape per design or carve images into the surface of the instrument. I've attached a few images of his work to this email. Dan Schultz: an excellent airbrush artist. You can see a fine example of his work on the Koicaster - he is responsible for the non-inlay artwork on the instrument, such as the pagoda shadow and the other non-koi elements of the Koi pond on the front and back of the body and on the back of the instrument's neck (the dragonfly).
Artists such as those discussed above may contribute their talents to the instrument, but it is built by a Fender Custom Shop Master Builder, or Senior Master Builder. We will have Senior Master Builder Todd Krause build La Claudette. Todd has many years experience working with the above artists and has produced many stunning instruments, such as the Koicaster. It will be Todd's task to execute the design that you and Pamelina develop and to coordinate the work of the various artists involved.
The Art Guitar is essentially what some call a "glass case" instrument - they are created to be looked at, not played. They are functional instruments, they could be played, but that's not the primary intent. Instead, the raw instrument serves as a canvas for artistic expression. Many believe, myself included, that the shape of the classic Stratocaster, with its smooth, almost sensual curves, is an excellent three dimensional sculpture that affords artists an opportunity to take that basic attractive shape and modify its three dimensional aspects (as in the work of George Amicay) or alter its two dimensional surfaces (as in the work of Pamelina, Thorn and Schultz) to create a unique work of art. The guitar, as canvas, has six surfaces that can be worked - the front and back of its three basic components - the body, the neck, and the headstock. Although obviously most often seen only from the front in a standard display, the back surfaces need not, and perhaps shouldn't be, ignored, as you can see in the work on the Koicaster. All six of the surfaces can be painted, all six can receive inlay work, and five can be carved - I'm not familiar with any wood carving work having been done to the neck. Though I can't say it's not possible, altering either surface of the neck might have a negative effect on the "playability" of the instrument, which, while not the primary intent, is still a consideration.
Attachments: Amicay1: "Regina Del Mare" Each instrument features the hand-carving of George Amicay.   |
February 02, 2004
February 2, 2004, Thrilled! (Claudette Perry)
This is such an honor to be "immortalized" in such a way. Really quite difficult for me to wrap my mind around it at this point! Corresponding with Pamalina H, I think, will be the highlight.
Fancying myself as somewhat of a designer, working on the design with one of the greats will be truly satisfying for me. I welcome the experience!
February 01, 2004
February 1, 2004, Initial Contact with Pamelina H (TW)
The wheels are turning.
La Claudette is no longer a surprise - Mike told Claudette about the project on her birthday, shortly after the first jounal entry. A good thing. She has agreed to work with Pamelina H on the design.
Contacted Pamelina H via email.
Pamelina: |
Here's her reply to my inquiry about her doing the pre-order design work on La Claudette:
Hello, Tom Talk to you soon. Pamelina |
According to Mike, Claudette is excited about the prospect of working on the design with Pamelina H, so hopefully, the two will contact each other and get started soon.
February 1, 2004, Genesis (Mike Perry)
What in the world would make a seemingly well grounded individual decide to have a guitar assembled to honor his wife? After all, a "G" string, to her, is a naughty piece of apparel worn by harlots in her husband's dreams. Soooo---why?
She has loved me despite the fact that I spend countless hours, as well as countless dollars, on the one passion (besides her) that has controlled me for what must seem to her to be an eternity, guitars. They're stacked here, they're stacked there, under beds, and in closets, taking up space which she would just as soon have reserved for her passion, shoes!
If all it will take for me to do to bring immortality to this woman that I love is to breath life into a guitar, then, I say, why not?
Let the great Masters at the Custom Shop begin!!