Bringing a Meme to Life!

A few years ago I received an email thanking me for the dive helmet pattern and tutorial. I love hearing how people can combine a few simple supplies with a bit of imagination to create something fantastic:

Dear Chris,

First of all, thank you so much for this pattern! I've never worked with foam before and wow did this open my eyes.

My husband and I are taking part in a project that's wrapping up in a couple of months. A photographer couple have had a "neo-victorian photography atelier" for the past seven years. ( http://ohaapala.com/)These will be some of their last portraits. Since most people have come up with alter-egos and a backstory, so have we: we will be posing as a sea-monster researcher couple from late 1800's. So, of course we needed a diver helmet! 

It turned out to be quite tricky to get one - even for a loan. But then I found the Lost Wax youtube-channel and was mesmerized! Once I got the pattern, it was easy to follow, worked beautifully, the video helped a lot and gave a ton of confidence to just dig in. The material tips were also informative. Even though I didn't order the linked ones, it gave a good idea of what to use. Still, I improvised a bit. For example, I took apart a gold gel-pen and used the ink from that, since all I could find was patina paint, that would've melted the foam. The old camping mat I used was already battered and torn and ready for the bin - voila: sea-snake bites and other scars of exotic excursions!

All in all, the end result is awesome. I also made boots to match.

Photo credit: Atelieri O. Haapala, Helsinki, Finland

Fast forward a bit and now the photo has been published in a 10 year anniversary book by Atelieri O. Haapala. Along with that, I discovered there was a little more to the story. The photo is a fun replica inspired by an old photograph which gained new life as an internet meme:

I’m so glad I could be a little part of these beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing!

Photo credit: Atelieri O. Haapala, Helsinki, Finland