Bianca’s Hands

Last night I was called to Chatsworth CA, otherwise known as the porn capital of the US. But thankfully, this respectable hand job was an opportunity to work with “creature designer” extraordinaire, Jordu Schell. Jordu is a world-renowned sculptor and concept artist, whose work has appeared in Avatar, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Men in Black, to name a few.

He’s currently working on a number of special effects films, including an adaptation of Theodore Sturgeon’s classic short story, Bianca’s Hands. Naturally, that’s where I come in to lend a hand…

Our evening began with a brief tour of his massive studio, every room decked with other-worldly intergalactic props and prototypes.

When we arrived at his office, he settled into a wheelchair behind his desk, and asked, “I bet you’re wondering why I’m sitting on a wheelchair?” But before I could nod in response, he was onto our task at hand, and began reading the story of Bianca’s Hands from an enormous clay-stained iMac.

I haven’t been read a story with such impassioned thespian dedication since elementary school, and most certainly never on the job. Jordu’s dramatic narration didn’t miss a beat, an elongated pause, or change of accent… He even laughed coyly when playing the character of Bianca, and stopped briefly towards the end to share that Sturgeon’s writing has brought him to tears.

Becoming more captivated by Jordu’s character than those in the story, I didn’t completely follow the complexities of plot. But I did gather that Bianca is a grotesque “imbecile”, who possesses “sacred and perfect hands” that become the objects of obsessive desire. “The hands are the main character of the film,” Jordu emphasized more than once.

After Bianca’s tale was told, the remainder of the evening was spent taking pictures of my hands so that Jordu would have a reference to intricate subtleties when sculpting the Stars.

While talking briefly about destiny, Hollywood politics and its ideals of beauty, Jordu sketched my hands, occasionally pinching the skin with wonder and awe, and turning out a striking replication.

Around 9 p.m., as we walked to the parking lot, I felt a little sad to leave Jordu’s fantastic universe of fantasy, hoping I might return one day…maybe in another lifetime as one of his wild incarnations!

As we said goodbye, Jordu remarked how cold the air had become. And as I turned to head toward my car, I heard him mumble a warning – something about “werewolves”, and I realized then that the supernatural universe of this magical man of many monsters, was no fantasy.