Meet Dr. Grymm. He may sound like a character straight out of a Mary Shelley novel but Joey Marsocci considers him his steampunk alter ego — albeit one who's crafted fantastical mechanized props, really works of art, for films, television shows and exhibits like the one at Middletown's North End art gallery.



"Weird Science: In the Life Cycle" is an utterly fascinating collection of science- and nature-themed art — from huggable single-celled organisms to wondrous machine and otherworldly-inspired creatures at the Middletown Artists Coop Gallery.



You can see the show and many others Friday from 5-8 p.m. during the monthly North End Gallery Walk at Middletown Framing (with a graffiti/fine artist solo reception for Olof Aspelin) and a dozen other locations.



Grymm, seen in the photo above with a steampunk mask, says it's actually a film prop from "The Nightmare Machine," whose concept "pulls the nightmares out of you so they can actually sleep." This bird-like creature, which looks a little like a metal Gonzo of the Muppets, has one eye that flashes a green light and the other that is a wind-up music box.



"My style is a little bit of Mary Shelley and Edgar Allen Poe with a little bit of Jules Verne mixed into it," says the Middletown resident, referring to the gothic and science fiction novelists and poet.



Which brings us to the definition of steampunk. Grymm says there is none.



There are more elements of steam punk in today's films, TV shows and books than ever — and for the first time entire movie and television shows dedicated to the art form.



But distilling the concept into a single meaning isn't easy. "As an art form, it's a way to represent an alternate history where steam power was more prevalent than electricity, where mad science took a turn in a more fantastical way," Grymm says.



Another cool-beyond-words piece is a cross between a goldfish tank, old telephone and Victrola phonograph that not only lights up but plays a loop of conversation, voiced by actors Grymm paid, of crazy humanesque conversations the male and female fish engage in.



It's audio is run by an iPod, Grymm says, so in between the piece's various incarnations at shows or in films, it serves as a music player and lamp at his home.



An imposing tree with a plastic-wrapped trunk and tiny black fairies dangling from branches with dead foliage, called "Ailing Tree Fairy," is an audiovisual piece with the sounds of a forest emanating from the base, where a rusty old typewriter, a clock, wood shavings and other trash sit.



The fairies, though dark and admittedly scary looking to some observers, Grymm says, are meant to be beautiful creatures trying to pull off electrical wires caught in the tree's branches. Each is lovingly wrought in fine detail with wire, tin foil and hot glue, and subtly colored in reddish brown and green.



It's meant to signify how nature has sort of grown around the discarded non-organic items left behind by careless humans, Grymm says, with no other option but to persevere.



Grymm is also author of three books, including "1,000 Steampunk Creations: Neo-Victorian Fashion, Gear, and Art (1000 Series)," which is available for purchase at the MAC650 gallery event.



As part of the show, curated by MAC650's new President Rachel Caldwell, which runs through Sept. 14 at the resident artists co-op gallery at 650 Main Street, Grymm, along with The Weird Bug Lady (whose hand-sewn dolls make protozoans lovable), will hold all-ages workshops Friday evening..



From 5-8 p.m., Grymm will show folks how to sculpt a fairy with hot glue and foam.



Marsocci has been a freelance designer of theme park attractions, toys, puppets, graphic marketing, film props, and private consignments for more than 18 years.



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