There Will Come Soft Rains - "Godling' @Selva 2026

Well the Godling show is behind us. I plan on putting together a free Hive Scum patreon post with some of the photos that I took from the event, and I'll link that here when it's complete.

This post is just about the piece that I created. The show was organized by Martin McCoy (@martin.mccoy.art), Shane (@7he_blindman), and with help from Joe (@armageddon_bound) and Cody (@texasladybugauthority) as well as others involved with the space. They did a great job organizing and setting up the interactive exhibit.

It was a mad dash to get my work done, and I wanted it to feel like a in-between of the gallery works I've been making and something 28 focused...

Here's a finished shot of it hanging in the space:

And the flyer for the show:

The work itself started off by raiding a box of scrap electronics/big bits that I had. Originally I wanted a television mounted behind it that would be looping clips, but that was a bit too much to bite off in only a month and a half or so...

At this point the "bee" concept hadn't been figured out. I knew it was going to be something plant related but how it would all tie together I wouldn't figure out till a thrift store hunt. I went into the thrift store with my challenge: find something in that store... before my daughter starting getting too wily. I found the bee head on a remote control car, and the nerf gun pieces to tie it all together. Did another round of grit - then primed it with a heavy white zenithal.

Painting it was done in a few layers. I didn't mean for that to be the case but I kept washing paint over it and not leaving enough color behind.

As you can see - it's looking way to washed out at this point, so after a few more pushes of color we were getting somewhere

I got around 90% of the way there at the HS studio one Thursday night. Just needed to figure out the lights. Gage told me (rightfully so) that I needed to figure out a way to tie the big light together with the rest of the piece. So I went home and worked on getting that part of the piece buttoned up.

I'm pretty stoked on how the light game out. Modpodge, toilet paper and a few drips of ink while wet. then a spritz of spray paint. I may have to do a larger piece this way.

So there you have it. I wrapped it up, Gage brought it down to the show and worked with the coordinators to set it up. Gage also set me up in his hotel room, and brought the piece back, so he's a REAL MVP of the weekend.

Here's a couple cool shots, a close-up from Greg Wier (@denindayjob), and a dark one from when Shane (@the_blindman) was closing down one night.

Thanks to all those who made this happen, hope to see more gallery shows from the 28 community!

<3

Terry

Weekly WRMHL3 - 1/23

Another week, another creative dump. Can't promise these little updates will always happen, or always be weekly, but it's a good place for me to drop some photos of work made in the past week so I can look back at it later.

This week's minis were some bashes I made sitting on Gage's couch the other night, and a skeleton cart which Gage told me was made by @manglingminis. They were painted in oils, which I haven't used in a long time, but it'll be back to being my daily driver for a while:

I made a handful of collages:

This one I applied to a collage specific show at a local gallery in the town I work in:

A couple works that I edited with the phone dramatically to create as strong a contrast as possible, something like this will likely be the cover of my next album (whenever I get around to that):

And lastly, I met up with the gang at the studio last night and got my artwork for Godling to about 95%. Just gotta adjust the lights a bit and drill a hole to run the wire through - oh and some way to mount it to the wall...

Come through if you can make it!

Anyway, keep on making a mess - pce!

Xoxo

Terry

WRMHL Update - 1/15

Last couple months been BUSY, but I’ve really caught my stride in the last few weeks. Like most people, I have projects in the works, and sometimes those projects build up a bit. Some stagnate and lay forgotten. I’m a “daily todo list on a post-it” kinda fella and that works for me because I cannot remember what I have to do otherwise. 

Lately I’ve been working hard to complete my whole list in a day, not leave anything untouched even the little stuff. I’ve kinda reconfigured my to-do to be more realistic and it’s been helpful. I’ve cleaned up and organized my classroom and that’s helped out a lot too. 

Finally I’ve been keeping a small, book calendar, which is helpful in itself, but it’s got this random section titled PRIORITIES with six little lines. I’ve been dropping all those stagnated or medium sized to-dos on there and it’s been helpful in clearing out the backlog and accomplishing the extra “that would be cool” ideas I get. 

Anyway all my daily to-dos aren’t boring, here’s the fun stuff I’ve done this week:

Painted up some Nurgle models for my YouTube rank and flank project

And an ork who's been kicking around the work bench for a while:

I’ve done a handful of collages at lunch or while the kids are working:

I have a work showing currently at a local gallery near me:

And I’ve slowly plugged through the building part of my piece for the Godling show put on my Martin and Shane at the end of the month:

It’s been good, and clearing away the old dusty backlog of todo has me excited to see what’s coming up!

Xoxo

Terry

Secret Santa Bash

Never posted my Secret Santa model that I made, and after getting yelled at by Ramshackle Curtis, I realized that he's right I should just throw it up and show you.

A couple of months ago I made a post about wanting to slow down and focus more. Take my sculpting more seriously, and making my painting more meditative.

Through doing that I realized that I deeply missed the OTHER side of the coin. Making a mess and seeing what happens.

I crushed out the bash on this guy in a night. It's similar to what I do when bashing with friends. I used the Miscast/Trent style built up base, where I mashed a lot of sci-fi junk into something interesting all held together with glue and greenstuff.

The base of this bash is a Wargame Scenery? (I think) mech boy that was given to the Hive Scum studio by the Michigan Carnage Club (I think Jay3 specifically). From there I slapped a fish head by Gardens of Hecate and Smashbash, a Final Faction (dollar store toy) saw for the arm and the tyranid arm. I filled in the gaps with a messy mix of greenstuff, dirt and glue, wires, and tamiya paste. 

Then I primed it when it was still curing before going to bed

Quick, dirty, and FUN!

Then I did the same thing with the paintjob. My toddler sat on my lap and we slapped a brownish basecoat, then that night I just hit the details with a little highlight. It felt good to let LOOSE!!

Anyways. Sometimes you gotta slow down, and sometimes just blasting through feels good. 

PEACE!

Playing With Materials, Making Some Art

I have been making relief sculptures for the past couple years, mostly in a diorama-esque way, using boxes and building up the inside with hardware store materials and, of course, some bits.

I've expanded out and stated building on top of more traditional canvas/flat pieces of wood about a year ago and it's been much less finicky.

I've been doing install on a tub and shower set-up lately, so I have a bunch of thinset that will be used to adhere the tiles to the walls. The material is cool, spreads and moves around like a combo of spackle and cement. 

I made a small work to text the capabilities, and also used some on the bases of some Riders of Rohan that I'll share soon.

I decided to go with a simple monotone color scheme for this because I always put too much visually into these sculptures. There's usually a lot of different color and I tend to overwork the piece. So I primed this off white, and hit it with some dark washes and called it a day.

Happy with the result, it was easier to paint than my artworks usually are, but the end result is more cohesive.

I've been looking at the work of Edward Kienholz and Russell Mills lately so I borrowed their palette for the work.

Russel Mills Wound, 1994

Edward Kienholz Drawing for the Hoerengracht No. 1, 1984

I'm going to keep exploring this and make some future posts about discoveries as I get ready for a show in the Spring with my wife.

Hope you like - PCE!

Pondering my Ork: Time, Space, and Managing Enthusiasm

Mentioned on Hive Scum (the ep that’ll be out 11/2) that I’ve hit a bit of a hobby slump lately. Talking my way through problems helps me out a lot, and the boys helped me think things through which was particularly helpful. 

My creative world goes through changes, in cycles that last anywhere from 6 months to 2 years - times of intense flow to times of steady ebbs. After seeing this cycle play itself out a dozen or so times I know I have to temper my flow to keep it sustainable, and I also like to chew through my ebbs so they don’t become stagnant. 

I’m certainly hitting an ebb - and with this ebb I know what I have to do, I have to make a workflow change to keep it moving, even if it’s more of a trickle for a little. 

About a month ago I started feeling it, a backup of home projects, hobby projects, family obligations and professional obligations left me stressed and overwhelmed. I had a little micro-breakdown before bed one night (always when we are tired huh?), and I decided to go to sleep and see what the landscape looked like in the morning. 

I realized something the next day. I had been trying my hardest to squeeze it all in. The build-up of ideas became too much, and the intention and focus I enjoy when working in tasks was gone - and left was a feeling of guilt that I was unable to get it all done and make time for my family. 

That was the full stop. I couldn’t sacrifice time I could be enjoying family activities to focus on getting stuff done. Also getting 8 hours of rest had an overwhelmingly positive effect on me mentally. So there it was, my solution: slow down, reclaim intention, and give the tasks some space. 

For this last month - the hobby has been on the backburner. I found it hard to scrape even a half hour to sit down at the workbench and I reflected on the work I’ve done in the past year. I’ve painted three armies and several warbands, each one created in a unique way, and you know - it felt great to do that.

But I lost something in the massive push. 

I lost the love for the individual model. 

I lost the love of focusing in on one step in the process, I pushed and pushed and the hobby started to feel like a race rather than a meditation it once was. 

Maybe speedpainting over two color zenithal isn't my answer.

So last night I finished my first model I’ve finished in a month. A kitbashed ork for 40k. It felt great, because I took my time. I sunk in and just enjoyed pushing the paint around. Painted a face on the shield, some checks on the gun, hit some places with gloss and did more than just throw flock at the base. 

Obviously it is nice to get these big chunky projects blasted through - and even when blasting through, I still make time for the little details, but because I’m flying, there’s a hint of anxiety involved. 

So here I am, slowing down a bit. Focusing on the mini in front of me, and living one hobby session at a time. 

Slow and steady work always yields more production than expected (the first step is the hardest as they say). My problem is I start steady and healthy and then I set a precedent and try and meet the productivity. 

This ain’t going to always happen, especially with a toddler who is my main focus. I’m not always gonna find regular hobby time. 

A good hobby friend of mine - Maggot Ian (Echoes of Battle, Portcullis zine), put it perfectly when talking to Enzo, another hobby dad who can’t always find the time to paint or play: “Also easy to fall into all or nothing thinking. Some gaming is better than none.” Same goes for all aspects of the hobby. Sometimes we are gonna get there, sometimes we aren’t. 

It’s more important to slow down, do what you can, and enjoy what you are doing. 

xoxox

Terry

The Incident on Harrark's Grin

Last episode of Hive Scum, I talked with Gage and Steve a bit about solo-wargaming. It has always been something floating around in the back of my mind, I remember reading a Jervis Johnson piece about creating custom scenarios to play in his basement. This idea (like I said on the pod) is very appealing. I get to set up my creations, look at them all setup, and learn a new game, at my own pace - shifting rules in the process to meet my needs.

I've been slowly setting up a board using some 1x1 tiles that were made by Gage for an event run by him and Evan (@itswhatevan). They mostly sat around the studio for the last couple years, but this plus some scatter would make the perfect board for the first mission. 

Which I hope will lead to more!

Here's a look at the board as it stands now. I fitted a 2'x3' play area in a part of my garage studio that's seldom used. This can stay up for however long it takes me to finish. I dug out some Nurgle cultists and they are just milling around for now - doing what cultists do best.

My goal is to learn 3rd Edition 40K. I've got the rules printed out, and my computer is set-up right next to the game so I can reference it if I need to. I am going to take one tiny step at a time, and get a chance to really absorb it, rather than feeling to crunch of an opposing player.

For now I just have some of the opposing force setup, but I will be dropping my Black Templars on the map when I pick them up from the studio. It's going to be really small numbers - 250pts or so, and I'm going to ignore unit cohesion so it feels more skirmish like.

I'll have more of a lore dump in the next post about this game, but the basic story is a mostly abandoned manufactorium on a moon called Harrark's Grin, which orbits a larger planet called Metolocus II is now home to a budding Nurgle-loving abhuman settlement. Planetary Defense Forces on Metolocus have received messages of unknown origin from, who they believe to be Imperial citizens from the small pole-based communities which still have workers stationed at them. After years of sending PDF and Guard squads, Planetary Governor Bulard has connected with Sector Lord Montavius, who has enlisted the help of nearby stationed Black Templars, on crusade in the neighboring Archarbos Sector. They accept the Sector Lord's proposal and send a team of 5 Initiates and their Castellan.

I'm excited to see how this plays out. In any case it will be a learning experience and a new way for me to engage with the hobby on my limited time I have to myself these days!

xoxo

Zona Alfa/Inhumane Harvest Crew

Things have been rolling across the hobby desk a bit slower these days. Summer's over and my daughter is going through what feels like her 100th tough night-time transition, so I don't get too much time to dwell in my cave. I'm working on a big project that I can't talk about here just yet - but I've also been making a crew to run in games of Zona Alfa, Inhumane Harvest, and the two taggers will act as NPCs for a Necromunda event in the near future, put on by my friend Trey.

I'm really happy with the crew. a couple use some old bashes that are being recycled, one guy in the back is made using different Bolt Action sprues, the dude with the assault rife in the front is metal and was a lucky find from my bits bin. I watched Trent's basing video yesterday and it opened my eyes to creating dynamic bases, so you can see two in the back are constructed using some of Trent's asymmetrical slants. Very fun to do and they really make those poses more dynamic. The two I'm most excited about though are the ones with spray cans which are from Slow Death Games: Wild in the Streets. I've sat on these FOREVER and I've always wanted to use them for a game. I like to imagine they are the ones writing "Dead Inside!" on doors and other post-apocalyptic messages you'd see in an area overrun with mutant freaks.

Anyway, I'll prime with guys up tonight most likely. Aside from that I'm working on making some music again, using some techniques I used back when I first started making noise. Be on the lookout for a release (hopefully soon) on IRWT, as well as probably a very rare IG post (boo!)

See y'all next time 

Turnip28: Some Buildings

So Paulie Mordheim left me with a couple of buildings from the Vexed Village Kickstarter because I mentioned I wanted to paint them up. I love the character of these buildings and they remind me of some of my favorite turnip terrain from  Dr Mathias

Paul had primed them black, so I soaked them in my usual way with a bunch of random paint off the shelf:

I thought that the greenish tint would be cool, and I left 'em out in the sun to dry up all day:

I hit them with some color, using a sponge for the white. Just like all my turnip stuff it was quick, rough and sloppy.

 

Then I mixed up some oilwash. I've been using streaking grime a lot lately, but oil is MUCH more cost effective. I love the messy stage of slopping a bunch of oil on there and seeing how bad it looks

Then of course, it all looks great when you wipe it off:

Things got kinda weird here... I tried to resplotch on some white over the oil and it looked really bad haha, still I went forward with it, and drybrushed the red and the gray metal. I didn't take pics because it wasnt part of the plan.

 Then for these final pics, I went over the whole thing in a dark brown ink wash (sort of agrax-like), which brought the messiness together.

Ultimately, I like them, they weren't hard to paint up and I think they'd look killer on a table.

Thanks for stopping by, I know I said I'm done with Turnip, but I played one game and now I'm really back into it.