Grave Born2022

This is the first and so far, only table I've ever made. 

It began with the skull, which I started sculpting back in 2019, inspired by The Last Podcast on the Left. The phrase "rise from your grave," part of the podcast's opening, originally comes from the 1988 Sega game Altered Beast. But for me, it carries a deeper meaning. 

Marcus Parks once said, "Your mental illness is not your fault, but it is your responsibility." That quote stuck with me. 

I now associate "rise from your grave" with the idea that we can confront our darkest moments, learn from them, and emerge stronger. This piece reflects my belief that adversities, however haunting, can be portals for growth. It's about the graves we dig for ourselves and the strength it takes to climb out of them.

Thanks for stopping by. Megustalations.

This project started with a cheap plastic skull shot glass holder. 

molded it with foil and tape and gave it the face of the underworld with paper mâché.

Mounted on a shampoo box cracked like the tombstone of forgotten Gods.

Then came the clay, forged from school glue, cornstarch, and olive oil.

Blessed by chaos, hardened by intent.

Skull forged, tombstone sealed, then silence. 

I dropped this piece into a plastic shopping bag and left it to sleep. 

Three years passed while it sat untouched, cloaked in dust and inertia, quietly haunting a forgotten corner, waiting for its next breath.

When we moved, I unearthed it like some long-buried relic. I never meant for this to become an end table. 

After its resurrection from the plastic bag purgatory, it just evolved. 

Real moss and dried flowers were pressed into place like offerings to grief. 

Acrylics bled color into every crevice, resin sealed it like glass over a cenotaph. 

Grave Born dwells beside my couch like a sentinel. 

An end table forged from chaos and devotion.

It's not just a surface to set things down. This is a monument to resilience, to patience, to letting forgotten things rise.

I never planned for it to become what it is. It chose its final form. I just followed the chaos and trusted the process. 

Grave Born didn't just survive the grave, it claimed its place in the living world. 

The summoning of Grave Born

Anatomy and armature:

• The cursed cranium - Plastic skull-shaped shot glass holder

• Tombstone Base - Repurposed shampoo box

Flesh of the Forgotten:

• The first layer of decay - Paper mâché 

• Bone binding DIY Air-Dry Clay: 

  • Powdered silence (cornstarch)

  • The binding force of schoolyard necromancy (Elmer's glue)

  • Olive oil to smooth the madness

Organic Offerings:

• Real moss and assorted dried flowers laid atop the dead, softening wrath with reverence

Entombment Protocol: 

• Acrylic paint

• Epoxy Resin

• Time and patience