Dan Reeder has been building papier- and cloth-mâché monsters for more than three decades. His artwork has been displayed in art fairs and galleries all over the Pacific Northwest, where he has earned the appropriate title "Dan the Monster Man." He is also author of The Simple Screamer: A Guide to the Art of Papier and Cloth Mâché, and Make Something Ugly for a Change: The Definitive Guide to Papier and Cloth Mâché. He lives in Seattle, Washington. Visit him at www.PaperMacheMonsters.com.

For lovers of the truly grotesque, Reeder (Make Something Ugly for a Change) provides detailed photo instructions for large figures constructed of clothes hangers, newspaper, and glue. Cloth skin, teeth, and slathered-on paint finish them off. The toothy dragons are particularly effective.

I first met Dan Reeder over twenty-five years ago, while strolling through an art fair in our shared hometown. I was, I remember, bored out of my mind and heading back to my car, when I suddenly caught a glimpse of something out ahead of me, hanging high in an artist's booth. My adrenalin started flowing. Boredom had morphed into pure desire. I could have knocked someone down as I made my way toward the object of my instant affection, and when I finally stood almost directly under it, I found myself gazing up at a large ochre-colored, multi-fanged, drool-festooned, wall-eyed dragon. Be still my heart. And as I looked around the booth, I saw other humorous-but-also-edgy-looking beasts. I had entered the world of Dan Reeder, and I suppose, looking back on it now, it was inevitable that we would quickly become good friends. (I think Dan and I make each other feel normal.)

Fast-forwarding to the present time, I initially thought Dan was a little crazy for writing a how-to book that reveals all his secrets on how to make such unique creatures from such un-unique materials. (Personally, I would never show anyone how to draw a cow--the udders alone took me years to master.) But he assured me he really wanted to do this. I guess it's the teacher in him. And, in truth, I'm not one to argue that the world doesn't need more monsters, be they made of papier and/or cloth maché, as demonstrated in Dan's entertaining new book, or flesh and blood, as demonstrated by the one standing behind you right now.

(P.S. Yes, I bought the dragon.)