Super Skull Saturday (Heavy Metal Style)

Crank it up to 11 for today's Super Skull Saturday post, skullnatics! It's my honor and privilege to introduce Tom Adams from Canton, MI to the Skull-A-Day stage to take you to a new level of heavy metal skull making. This stuff is so heavy you're beard might even grow a few inches.

Every artist has their influences in childhood that guide them down that long and winding road. Tom tells us, "As a child I always wanted to grow up to be a paleontologist and was always interested in bones, bugs, fossils and things of that nature. I was also fascinated by death. In school I was never very good at academics but had a knack for art, especially sculpture."

Tom's road happened to have the bike path from Hell on it and hence we arrive at the awesomeness that Tom has pedaled into place. "Here is one I call the "Skelebike" that I built in 2008. It is all steel and is a full functioning bicycle. I showed it at the last two Detroit Autoramas where it was very well received and won multiple trophies."



The metal gods command that you check out the means by which Tom transformed a girl's bike into this vehicle of wickedness!

All right! I know this next piece isn't metal, but it's HEAVY! "It's made out of an actual piece of a grave marker that was replaced due to an error."



I mean come on, it's a tombstone skull! You bet yer ass Tatman's tombstone will have a skull on it! Let the metal continue....

"Here's another one I made out of stainless steel. I like to set this one on a shelf in it's open position, when somebody touches it, it collapses and makes a wonderful metal clank sound. Not to mention it usually also scares the $#!+ out of them too, which is a nice side effect."



Tom felt the fire burn in him to wield and weld the metal to do his bidding, passing along the gift of metal to those who desired to be heavy. "Here is the one that started it all for me in steel. I have probably made over a thousand skulls in my lifetime and gave most of them away to anyone that had a shared interest in them."



He even goes old, old school and kicks Jur"ass"ic with this wrenched out Triceratops.



As fate would have it(or as the metal gods intended it), Tom tells the tale of divine intervention, "Over the years I had tried many mediums but after being required to take a welding course for my job, I was hooked. I felt a strong sense of permanency in my work. It feels good to do work in a medium that isn't practiced by many artists."



Tom gets down right hard as rusty nails with the "Termin8r".




This trip into the metal bending mind of Tom Adams comes to end, but we can't go out without thanking him for sharing all of his great work. Thanks, to you, Tom! May the metal gods always shine bright on your supply of tools, materials, and inspiration. Thanks for being a part of Skull-A-Day and for keeping it HEAVY!



I told you this post was heavy. Tom was clean shaven when we started.

Yard Skulls

A frequent contributor to the site Tom Adams from everyone’s favorite mitten state Michigan sent us a couple of more contributions to wind down the year with.

First up is a pair of pumpkin skulls he did over the last two years.


...and finally Tom told us: “Took one last parting shot of this guy before I disassembled him. Unfortunately one of my sons friends decided to climb on him and it broke his back from his pelvis. He's been outside for the last 15 years doing duty as my yard guard so his head is proudly displayed in my collection for now. Maybe I'll build a better one in the future.”


Skynet C says:

“Maybe I'll build a better one in the future.” Cue foreboding music here, “Tom Adams come with me if you want to live.” There has been a lot of talk recently about 365 projects because of the Skullmaster’s new book, perhaps you should look into doing one yourself. You have shared your multi-discipline talents with us in your work so you would be a natural. Thanks again for another great round of contributions.

Super "Skurving" Saturday

Canton man, Tom Adams, is back again with more skulls to fill your weekend. Tom was the creator of the "Skelebike" and other hardcore skulls from a past Saturday post 'here'. He's back in the shop with a new medium and he's here to tell us more about it. "I've been working with wood around here lately. Im showing a softer side of my work and as a bonus the slivers are alot easier to get out of my hands. The first skull is called crybaby. Notice the natural tear shaped knot under his left eye. This is made from an Ash tree that fell on my workshop last year."



This fellow is aptly named "Woody".



"This one is called "Eddie the stick" and is made from an antique softball bat that was warped."

It's good to see you trying new things, and doing them well, Tom. I like tor workwith wood as well, but I've never tried carving it. Your works make me want to get back in the garage and whittle the time away. Thanks for sharing these, Tom.

“Countdown To Halloween”
15 more days and counting...

Sunday Simulacra - Version 5.30

All of today’s simulacra come from prolific simulacra hunter and skull creator Tom Adams of Canton, Michigan. You can see some more of Tom's past contributions and creations HERE.

Tom wrote: “I got this unique bruise after some martial arts sparring matches. Guess this guy wanted to rip my bicep off. Too bad for him as he lost both matches.”


He continued: “Here’s another skull found by my son Nolan on his favorite candy. Had to be quick on this one before it was eaten.”


and finally: “Here is a skull I found lurking around in the form of a hing on a desk.”


Merry C says:

Thank you for showing off your ever growing collection of simulacra. We truly appriciate seeing the presents you leave for us in our submission box.

As always keep sending those pictures of simulacra in to our submissions address. Just keep in mind that since we only post simulacra once a week it might take a little longer than normal for it to be posted.

Apple Core Skull

Tom Adams, who brought us the “Skelebike”, returns with a not so permanent skull. Tom wrote: “My daughter left this half finished apple sitting on the table today and I couldnt help notice how much it looked like a skull. So not wanting to waste an apple and a perfect opportunity I carved this little beauty and decided to dry it in the hot car. So here is the ‘Day One’ photo.” We learned from Tom that day that putting an apple in a hot car was a bad idea.


Pothat C says:

Even though this piece only lasted a few hours it was a great success while you had it. Let me encourage you to continue this persuit with some info that I uncovered here. Thank you for sharing this with us, and remember a Skull-A-Day keeps the boredom away.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.10

Who knew that our band of skull hunters had it's own aerial unit keeping their eyes on the skies for the skulls reigning from above.

This fantastic cloud skull was captured on the deck of John Angelo's cabin in beautiful Pollock Pines, California.

And one of our most avid hunters, Tom Adams, spotted this "skullset" with his entire family.

The best part of these two isn't their similarities but their differences.  One is formed from the clouds themselves, the other is a void of negative space within the clouds.  Each has it's own persona so each earns a place in our elaborate trophy room.  Thanks, John & Tom!

Sunday Simulacra - Version 4.30

A feast of simulacra to finish out this busy weekend.

First up is Jonathan “Ace of Spades” from Italy who sent us this picture of a fresh vegetable.


Next up is from one of our regular contributors Tom Adams who said: “Cleaning up after lunch I noticed this spagettio and potato chip skull reflecting back at me.”


Last up in a picture of my own from dinner one night. I had finished my salad and was waiting for the waitstaff to come and clear the course when I looked down and noticed the evil olive looking at me.


Leftover C says:

Thank you both for your submissions to our collection. I am constantly surprised by how the skull shape is randomly found in nature fruits and vegetables are one area where many are found. Tom, the reflection truly makes that shot on that simulacra.

Keep sending those pictures in to our submissions address. Just keep in mind that since we only post simulacra once a week it might take a little longer than normal for it to be posted.

Circuit Board Skulls

Long time Skully friend Tom Adams, sent us these that his son made. "Here are a couple of skulls made from circuit boards that my son Nolan has made. Hey what can I say, like father like son. I made the green one after seeing it in his pile...he inspires me."

Nolan's

Nolan with another skull

Tom's

I love seeing what kids create and how they inspire adults. These are great examples of a kid inspiring an adult. Circuit boards are technology art. I love the shapes of the passageways and connections. My daughter, is constantly drawing me skulls. Obviously, there is no question why. She makes great work. We should probably do one together.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.4

Prolific Simulacra Hunter and skull creator, Tom Adams, has added two more to our collection.

He wrote: “You know its going to be a great night when your day ends with this beautiful skullset. The whole family noticed this one while driving home from dinner out.” 

Next he said: “I haven't checked in in a while so when I saw this the other morning I had to stop and get a picture of it.”

Frequent C says:

Thank you so much for always sharing your pictures.  It is awesome that you have a camera ready on so many occasions to capture them for us.

And for the rest of our loyal readers- Keep sending those pictures in, we always love seeing what our skull hunters find. Anyone is welcomed to participate, it's fun and it's easy- if you see a simulacra skull, photograph it and send those pictures in to our submissions address with a little something about what it is really and maybe a little about you.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 4.32

Today's skulls were found in nature.

My best friend, Kit McSmash, from Richmond, Va found this at the pet store she works at. I" took a quick phone pic of this ball python at work because it had a skull-like pattern on the scales. I wanted to take a better quality photo later, but the snake sold before I had a chance."

I'm not normally a fan of snakes, but Ball Pythons are one of the few I do like. I'm glad someone purchased this skull patterned snake.

J. Ellisun Elliott, Lawrenceburg, Indiana found this skull in the clouds "On the levee looking west towards the power plant".

I love the overall look of this photo too. A skull above a power plant, seems to be a bad omen, but we need some sort of power to survive now.

Our good friend Tom Adams almost stepped on this one.

I found one of these a few months back. Anyone know what type of tree produces this kind of leaf?

Sunday Simulacra - Version 5.33

Today's skulls are metal...

The great skull finder, Tom Adams, found these two skull on "both ends of a Ford engine oil pick-up screen."

Henry Ryder found this "USB looking more like a monster than usual."

Keep sending those pictures in to our submissions address. Just keep in mind that since we only post simulacra once a week it might take a little longer than normal for it to be posted.

Sunday Simulacra - Version 7.6

Today's skulls were found in food form.

Darrell and Jamie Wells of St.Pete, Fl, found this Hot and spicy pickled skull. 

Noah Scalin found this skull in the eggs he was cooking for his wife.

Long time fan, Tom Adams found a skull lurking in his Wendy's Frosty.

Keep sending those pictures in, we always love seeing what our skull hunters find. Anyone is welcomed to participate, it's fun and it's easy. If you see a simulacra skull, photograph it and send those pictures in to our submissions address with a little something about what it is really and maybe a little about you.

Sunday Simulaca - Version 5.39

Sunday's here again and so are the skull hunters with another round of those sneaky skulls hiding around us.

Mike Youtz of Denver, Colorado writes, "Found this interesting Rhyolite rock while in Utah back in May 2011. We were wrapping up a two-week geology field class when we decided to visit Topaz Mountain in western Utah to do a little gem hunting. Instead I found this! Way cooler than a topaz in my opinion. At first glance I thought it was the petrified skull of some critter but nope, it’s just a volcanic rock. Enjoy!"

Dan-O Deckelman discovered this fiery skull while grilling some chicken.

And Tom Adams used keen eyesight to spot this super elusive skull.

Thanks again to everyone who keeps our trophy room stocked full of great skull captures. If you find one of your own then please submit it. We'll never run out of room for displaying all of the great finds our readers discover. As a matter of fact, I think I can safely say that our site is the definitive online resource for skull simulacrum. Can anyone prove me wrong?