The Unbearable Whiteness of Being, Why I Can't Leave (a) Well-Enough (helmet) Alone.

As an individual I thrive on motion (which may very well be why I ride bikes). I cannot sleep in silence, dislike swimming in still water, and I cannot read/study without the boisterous activity and noise of a coffee shop around me. I think that it is these attributes that have left me with an aversion to monochromatic color schemes as well. Throughout the years whenever I obtain something new, if it has a solid uni-color surface on it, I have stenciled it: motorcycle helmets, cell-phones, a decorative wheelchair, skateboards, etc. Recently, as a gift, I received a bicycle helmet. I do not normally ride with a bicycle helmet, but many charity rides require that one wear them for insurance purposes and I've never seen fit to spend what little money I have on a helmet. So, for the sake of my inclusion in these rides it was a good gift but far too plain for my taste. It was all white and I set out almost instantly searching for stencils to my taste that I could deface it with. Almost immediately, while google searching for a Virgin de Guadalupe stencil, I somehow found this treasure:

Leatherface of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame. Though, I had been looking for a classic icon of The Virgin, I knew immediately that there was to be no better stencil for the back of my helmet than Leatherface's intimidating visage. I got to work.

And here was the end result:

I have been well pleased with the outcome. The painter's tape bled here and there a little but the overall effect was perfect. I do also have two other rather large areas to cover on the helmet (the temple areas of the head round about) before it is completely street ready. I spent over an hour trying to make a stencil of my own out of a photograph of the face of the Predator, but failed miserably. I also recommend Stencilry.org as a good resource for stencils of famous faces, various animals, and movies, etc as well as providing excellent how-to tutorials.