Tsathoggua idol

I'm a big fan of H P Lovecraft and his Cthulhu Mythos (not really defined by Lovecraft, but by his admirer August Derleth). What's not to like about this weird, xenophobic, asexual, icecream-loving guy and his insane tales of slimy cosmic horror?? I'll be getting back frequently to old H P in this blog. His main beastie, Cthulhu, has been the subject of numerous interpretations; images, dolls and statues.

There's been quite a few Cthulhu idols made and I thought I'd do another deity from the Mythos. Tsathoggua was invented by Lovecraft's pal and fellow author Clark Ashton Smith and is worshipped on his primeval continent Hyperborea. "You shall know Tsathoggua by his great girth and his batlike furriness and the look of a sleepy black toad which he has eternally." Pretty ugly, but weirdly cute at the same time.


This idol is about 35 cm tall. It's cast in black plastic resin and drybrushed with bronze paints. The original sculpture was made with Chavant clay and a silicone mold was created for making castings. The silicone is "Dragon Skin" made by SmoothOn Inc. The plastic is Smooth-Cast 325 (with black pigments), also made by SmoothOn Inc. These materials are great. In fact all materials from SmoothOn are great! They set fast and are easy to work with. Not that darn expensive either, when you look up what similar materials cost at other sellers. Tsathoggua was created over two weekends while Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jethro Tull was blaring from my workshop stereo (for no particular reason). Now he's lurking from the top of a book shelf.