Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Patrick Stewart meets Patrick Stewart

This story happened awhile ago and I posted it on my old weebly blog but I think it's worth sharing again.


In my senior year of high school, my art teacher suggested I sculpt a clay head to improve the portfolio I was submitting to art colleges. Since it was my first time modeling something realistic, he said I should sculpt someone bald and famous because hair is ridiculously difficult and its easy to find reference photos of a celebrity. When I was younger, I watched a lot of Star Trek: The Next Generation with my dad, so Patrick Stewart (aka Captin Jean-Luc Picard) was one of the first bald celebrities that came to mind. The piece was completed in December 2007.


Sculpture of Patrick Stewart

In the Summer of 2010, my best friend asked me to go with her to a Comic Con in Philly. I didn't really want to go, but her selling line was, "Patrick Stewart will be there." 


When I told my dad, he said jokingly, "You could take your Patrick Stewart head." We had a good laugh about it, but the day before the convention, he helped me line a bag with padding so I could safely carry the  head around.


I planned what I was going to say to Sir Stewart; I wanted to share how his hairless head helped me get into art college, so he didn't assume I was a pyscho fan with a shrine to him at home... But as I put my bag on the table in front of him, all I could get out was, "I really admire your work..." Then, I started to feel a little light-headed and I thought, "He doesn't care-- I shouldn't waste his time with my long explanation. I should just get my signiture and go." I mean, you would have thought that too---Just look at that face he gave me! 





But then I pulled out the head and he said, "Oh my!"


And then, "Where do you want me to sign?"


And the last words Patrick Stewart said to me were, "You take care of that."


The signature cost $60 (not including the cost for the convention ticket) and I had to wait in line for a good while. My only regret is that I didn't explain why I had a clay sculpture of his head. Oh well. Now my signed Patrick Stewart sits in the corner of my room as a hat holder. 


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