Dedham Pond Designs was created in early 2010, shortly after sculptor William Paquet first contacted me with an offer to work together on a project that turned out to be a bust called “Alma”, inspired by the effects work Dick Smith did on the 1981 movie “Ghost Story”. Here’s how I told the story:

We started discussing possible projects. I said in an e-mail that I enjoy the over-the-top ghosts I’ve seen in some movies and attached a few photos, including a collage of Smith’s work on “Ghost Story”. William, a very busy guy, read my message and replied quickly, before looking at the photos.

“Ghosts … funny you mentioned them because one of the things I have always wanted to sculpt and one of the things than came to mind for you was a bust of Alma Mobley/Eva Galli from ‘Ghost Story’. The half-rotten stunning work by Dick Smith. Very creepy, and the kind of thing that’s fun to paint.”

Attached to the e-mail was the exact same collage of Smith’s work. Oh yeah, this project had to happen.

We agreed that William would sculpt a bust inspired by actress Alice Krige’s Alma Mobley, as she appeared in a heart-stopping scene early in “Ghost Story”.

William kept me regularly updated on his progress with the Alma bust. Somewhere along the line, he said he was going to go ahead and do another sculpture inspired by the same film, this one of the ghost of Eva Galli as she appears to Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in the moments before his character’s death. That scene has haunted me for years, ever since I first sat in a theater and watched it in 1981.

So, Alma would launch Dedham Pond while William would, eventually, produce Eva himself. However, lucky for me, William Paquet is a busy guy. Very, very busy. Check out some of what he’s doing for Quarantine Studio to get an idea of how busy he is.

A couple of months ago, William unexpectedly offered a deal to make Eva part of the Dedham Pond catalog. Much as she frightens me, I quickly took him up on the offer. After another masterful paint job by Charlie Coleman — whose skills have also introduced Dedham Pond’s Mr. Hyde and Nosferatu — she’s now ready to haunt hobbyists.

ORDERING INFO: Eva and Alma are both 1/4 scale, one-piece resin kits. They sell for $45 apiece plus shipping for a 1.5-pound package. The price for both is $80 plus shipping for a 2-pound package. If interested, please email todd.powell@resinbarbarian.com. Please include your ZIP code so I can figure shipping.… Read the rest