Saturday, December 23, 2006
The artist said it takes a month to create one angel.
MASSILLON (AP) -- Tom Roseman's imagination can turn turkey bones into an angel.
"In a split second, you can be inspired by anything," he said.
His most unique creation, turkey bone angels, started this way.
Turkey bone, what?
Roseman deduced that the joint end of a turkey leg bone looked like an angel's robe, a mind-blowing thought that propelled him to craft some unusual ornaments.
"You just get ideas ... and it makes you laugh," the 49-year-old said.
"I don't drink, smoke or go out to bars. I've always been able to entertain myself."
Through experiments, Roseman found a successful recipe to turn leftover Thanksgiving turkey bones into angel decorations for friends and family.
How he does it
Here's his formula:
Roseman boils each bone for a minimum of one week, followed by a drying process that takes roughly two weeks to complete.
The bones must be "Sahara Desert" dry, he said, because it eliminates mold.
Roseman splits the two bones at the joint, producing enough pieces for four creations.
He then stands a bone on a homemade pedestal just before he begins to build an angel.
The pedestal is made out of an empty peanut can with a mixture of clear plastic wrap, aluminum foil and wax to anchor the bone onto the pedestal.
Roseman said the pedestal helps prevent the molding clay used to make the angel's body from getting mushed or dirty by laying the bone on a surface.
Roseman puts the joint end of the bone piece at the bottom of the pedestal, so the "robe" will not be covered by molding clay. He works on the angel's body from the top down.
He builds the angelic impression piece by piece.
"You got to see in your head what you want. No two bones are alike," he said.
Roseman then lets the clay dry, paints and puts four to five coats of crystal clear acrylic lacquer paint to strengthen the finished product.
It's his nature
Roseman said it takes him a month to finish one angel, mostly due to his impatient nature.
"I would have never seen an angel in a turkey bone ... that's just the artist in him," said Roseman's sister, Julie Roseman. "He lives in a different world than the rest of us."
Roseman believes he gets this creative mojo from his late parents. He said his mother was creative; his father was an imaginative science-fiction fan.
Roseman also dabbles in drawing illustrations for possible children's books and video games.
"You get inspiration for a lot of things. You just never know," he said.