spotlight Ff)

_—

Makeup technician
deadly serious
about his craft

A LONE figure sits hunched over a table in a dingy labora-
tory, surrounded by steaming potions and measuring flasks.
Slowly and carefully, a man in a white coat pours a thick,
odorless substance into a mold of a werewolf head.

No, it’s not a re-creation of
Frankenstein. Meet Rick Griffin,
local makeup technician.

EVELYN
JACOB

feature writer

The former Sutherland student
sits in his dark, spooky laboratory
most days concocting chemicals
and mixing up materials he wil!
use to create a terrifying mask — a
fish head, a beast, a gory hand —
or immitation blood and guts.

Surrounded by posters of horri-
ble creatures and aliens, this has
come to be an everyday scene at
Griffin’s Lynn Valley home.

“People ask me if { have
nightmares because of what ! do.
They think it’s morbid,’’ he says.

An aptitude test taken earlier in
life revealed that Griffin was suited
to the job of mortician, but that,
he says, wouldn't have provided
enough of a challenge. What he
really wanted was te become a
famous movie director like Star
Wars’ George Lucas.

So when he dropped out of
school at age 17, Griffin began
making horae-made science fiction

movies. It was while working on
one movie that he discovered his
true passion for mask-making and
special effects makeup.

“Il needed an alien for my
movie so | got a few books on
special effects and a shoebox
which f put over my head. My
brother poured plaster of paris on
my face and soon after | had a
primitive mask.”

The thrill was too much for him.
Griffin quickly abandoned the
movie and started glueing together
bits of foam, hair, and false teeth
instead. Today he spends mos? of
his waking hours in his lab, whip-
ping up foam latex ard other in- .
gredients in his mother’s kitchen
blender creating dozens of
ghoulish masks.

And his love for the freaky isn’t
just a passing hobby — Griffin is
deadly serious about what he
does. One can barely keep up
with him as he rattles off a list of
achievements: Griffin created the
old man face for the Grand Shep-
herd in the feature film Empire of
the Ash Three, assisted with
makeup for the latest Kokanee
Beer Sasquatch and has con-
tributed to a number of other loca!
TV commercials and videos. Cur-
rently Griffin is working on the
movie, Flesh Gordon Meets the

23 - Wednesday, January 11, 1989 - North Shore News

"NEWS photo Teny Peters

RICK GRIFFIN implants a set of false teeth into a plaster skull. Seen here in his laboratory, surrounded by
some of his horrible handiwork, local makeup technician Griffin confesses his love of terror in a recent in-

terview.

Cosmic Cheerleaders.

How did this love of horror
begin? Griffin can’t be sure but
remembers being deathly afraid of
the dark as a child.

“My grandmother used to take
us to horror movies and the
monsters really scared me. They
don’t frighten me now but that is
always in the back of my mind.”

And his obsession with things
creepy has a certain transforming
effect on him: “‘When you put on
the mask there is a kind of
transformation. You become that
character. When | put on a
monkey mask ! really fee! like a
monkey.”

« No one is more eager about his
work than Griffin himself, but the

26-year-old admits that his lack of
experience is his biggest obstacle
to cracking into the big-budget
movie market.

But with enthusiasm and an in-
satiable love of terror which
borders on the obsessive, Griffin
hopes his work will eventually
scare the right people into hiring
him.

around town

ax

ne UE
Vong

ca

AROUND TOWN, the North Shore News’ entertainment listing, is the
place to look for live theatre, concerts, galleries, dance events, and pub
and club performances. Running every Wednesday, Around Town lists
North Shore and Lower Mainland entertainment happenings.

Deadline for the Wednesday appearance of Around Town is the Fri-

day morning prior to listing.

Only written information can be accepted.

Fy S91 VTS AS

~~
~

Prince. Notth West Qpera presents
Romberg’s opera jan. 13 and 15 at 8
p.m. $14 and $12. 230-4444,

MARTIN
MILLERCHIP

listings coordinator

North Shore
N.S. Museum: Flying High. An histori-
Ww.

cal look at model aviation. 209 W. 4th
St. 987-5618, Weds. to Sun. from 1 to 4
Seymou our) Gallery: Ted ing. Land
Art Hy Ing. ~
scapes in colored graphics, air brush
and tndia ink.
: Robin Morem. Carvings from Zim-
babwe. Mon. to Fri. from 9 to 4 p.m.
and Wed. eve from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Presentation House Gallery:
Photographic Memory. The complex-
ities of personal, ancestral and collec-
tive memories. Why are things as they
seem? Six artists work in a show origi-
nally organized at the Seattle Art
Museum. Opening reception Jan. 12 at
8 p.m. To Feb. 26. 986-1351.
North Vancouver Community Arts
Council: Picture Loan. Rent your art
from local artists with option to pur-
chase from as little as $4 2 month. Jan.
12 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Presentation
House Gallery.
N.V. City Hall: Sue Bengtson. Acrylic
flowers. Reception tonight at 7:30 p.m.
147 W. 14 St. To Feb. 15.
Station Museum: Old tins, unusual ar-
tifacts, fire and sports equipment. Sun-
days only 1:30-4:30 p.m. Free. Mahon

((RESTAU ) -

Park, 16th and Jones.

N.V. Courthouse: Lou McPhedran.
Watercolors. Mon.-Fri., 8:30-4:30 p.m.
200 E. 23 St.

N.Y. District Hall: fil/ Pless. Oil paint-
ings. Mon.-Fri., 8:30-4:30 p.m. 355 W.
Queens Rd.

Isewhere
Sinclair Centre: Western Patterns. A
group exhibition including N.S. artists
Jim Felter, Ted Kingan, joy Zemel
Long, Gregg Simpson. To Feb. 4. 757
W. Hastings.

(772
vos “She Loudge howe ~ és
Cust omen. aba

7.

aru

North Shore

La Belle Sole; Marty Franklin Quartet.

Dine and dance every Thursday night.

Tel: 926-6861.

Sandy Cove: Live bands Fri. and Sat.
Bingo on Sun. :
Pool tourney on Mon.

Comedy show on Tues.

GREETINGS FROM HOLLAND
Dea Im. Co,
t to Lt yw tena V hae)

The Bridge House Restaurant
3650 Capilano Koad, North Vancouver

(opposite the world-famous Capilano Suspension Bridge)

Weds. is animal night!

jtast Thurs. of every month is ladies’
night. :
Queens Cross Pub: Live entertainment
on Sundays.
Lynnweécd Inn: Cheyenne Social Pub:
Live entertainment.
Troll hb: Lance Harrison Dixieland
Jazz Band. Sat. afts. from 3 to 6 p.m.

Club: Dine and dance every

Fri. and Sat. 988-6101. .
The Avaton: Hot Sunday Nights TopR
& B bands every Sun., 6-midnight.
Madison Ave. Bar.

of

987-3388