Collectors and fans alike have a chance to own one-of-a-kind Star Wars art pieces while giving to a good cause with The Empire Muggs Back. Lucasfilm asked artists, comic book creators, toy designers, and celebrity fans to get out their markers, paint brushes and glue guns and transform blank Mighty Muggs (donated by Hasbro) into custom Star Wars art which will be auctioned by The Make-A-Wish Foundation.
StarWars.com chats with Go-Go's guitarist/vocalist, actress and artist Jane Wiedlin about her process for turning a blank Hasbro Mighty Mugg into her Talz Jedi Knight -- Foul Moudama.
Why did you want to participate in The Empire Muggs Back art project?
I had many reasons to participate, but the top three are that: I'm a fan girl; I love making stuff; and I can refuse Bonnie Burton nothing. She must be obeyed.
What did you choose to do for your Mighty Mugg art piece?
I immediately envisioned doing something furry, because I am hopeless at painting and drawing. I did some research on Wookieepedia and made a short list of fun furry species. I narrowed it down to the Talz species or the Squib. I decided to go to a wig supply store to get my hair, thinking I would let fate decide to do the white Talz or the blue Squib (whom I find very sexy, by the way!). The store had no blue hair pieces, but they did have white human hair extensions. So I bought a bunch of that.
I also had a working mini lightsaber key chain that coincidentally fit into the Mighty Mugg hand, so I knew whomever I created was going to be holding a lightsaber, even if I had to concoct an explanation why! Luckily, I discovered that even though Talz aren't considered the most advanced lifeform in the universe, at least one of them was a Jedi Knight. That made my final decision simple; I was doing Foul Moudama!
What materials did you use? What was your step-by-step process?
After spending a week designing him in my head, I collected my supplies. The first thing I did when I started construction was use a Dremel to rough up the smooth finish of the Mighty Mugg. I was nervous about my materials adhering to that surface, and I do think roughing it up helped. Then I started trimming the hair extensions, because the shortest kind available were about 8", which was 7" too long for the figurine! Next I glued the hair to the figure using Superglue. Then I painted his face and hands. The paint took over 36 hours to dry, so during that time I sewed his little Jedi robes. That was hard because they are so tiny. And I am a crazy OCD perfectionist, so it took many, many hours!
When the paint was finally dry, I attached his 4 eyeballs and proboscis. I also took the card that came with the hair extensions and covered it with a photo of me, and part of a sticker from the US Post Office Star Wars stamp series, so the figurine has its own handmade, one-of-a-kind tag too! Altogether I spent over 30 hours making him. It was so dang exciting when everything was done and I could put his little lightsaber in his hand and turn it on! I love him so much!
What were some of the challenges you faced while making your art piece?
There were some really tricky moments. I had to experiment with several kinds of glue before I found that Superglue was the best one to stick to the Mighty Mugg. My painting was a bit of a nightmare; I didn't get the note about using acrylic paint till he was already done, and I used oil paint, which was really hard to work with and messy and took forever to dry. I am very ashamed of the painted part of my figurine, but hopefully the rest makes up for it! I messed up cutting the hair, and cut the first two feet straight across.
When I started wrapping it around him it looked like a hula skirt, not fur, and I was horrified. So I used that section in places it wouldn't be seen (his legs) and cut the rest of his hair w the scissors held vertically so it looked natural. That took ages! I barely had enough hair in the end, it was a bit tricky! Finding the right proboscis material was a challenge. I tried a bunch of stuff, including a foam earplug that I carved down, but nothing looked right. I ended up using a piece of rubber aquarium tubing that I held over a smoky candle to get that smoky look I felt it needed to look organic and not artificial.
Why do you think Star Wars fans will love The Empire Muggs Back project?
I think any fan enjoys to see stuff from the Star Wars Universe that is one-of-a-kind but still familiar. I know my favorite part of going to conventions has been the art exhibits, like the customized Vader helmets a few years back. It's so fun! I also think a lot of the artists involved with this particular project are very well known to many fans, so there will probably be people bidding on figurines because of who made them.
I hope people can see the amount of time and love that went into making my Foul Moudama, and that he sells for a whole lotta money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation! Oh...also...Star Wars RULES!
The final Mighty Muggs art pieces will be on display at San Diego Comic-Con and on StarWars.com.
Stay tuned to StarWars.com for in-depth The Empire Muggs Back coverage, info on the online charity auction, Mighty Mugg crafting tips and artist profiles.
