Charles Mason will be happy if viewers of "Steampunk'd," the new reality-competition show on the GSN cable network, learn that artists and artisans who make Steampunk creations are not "just a bunch of geeks, hiding in our houses, making things. We're good folks, mothers and fathers. The Steampunk community is awesome."
Mason, who lives with his wife and five-year-old son in Portland, may be a little biased. He's one of the contestants on "Steampunk'd," which premieres at 10 p.m. Wednesday on GSN (formerly known as the Game Show Network.)
The 10 contestants who start out the show - one is sent home each week -- include another Oregon-based creator, Josh "J.W." Kinsey, who lives in Silverton.
In the premiere episode, we see the creators working in teams. Their first challenge involves making a Steampunk-inspired kitchen. The Steampunk aesthetic draws inspiration from combining 19th-century technology with futuristic influences, though every Steampunk artist has their own individual style.
In the kitchen challenge, the teams employ another Steampunk technique - salvaging pieces of equipment, from clocks, birdcages, or other cast-off items - to outfit a kitchen with ornamental, elaborately assembled sinks, robots, and other details that marry an earlier era with science fiction concepts.
Jeannie Mai (one of the co-hosts of the talk show "The Real") is the host. The contestants' work is judged by Steampunk experts Matt King, Thomas Willeford, and Kato.
Mason, 38, worked as a pastry chef for the past 10 years, though he also makes and sells (on his website, "Lord Mason's Extraordinary Designs") such Steampunk-inspired items as purses, wallets and an airship night light.
After receiving an email from the "Steampunk'd" team asking if he'd be interested in being on the show, Mason responded that he was, and he submitted information and samples of his work.
"They said, 'You have what we're looking for,' and the ball was rolling," Mason recalls.
While filming the show in Los Angeles, Mason says it felt good having another Oregonian in the cast. "It puts the limelight on the creative people from this part of the United States," he says.
Though he can't reveal how far he made it through the "Steampunk'd" process, Mason says, "I wanted to go on the show to get my work out there. I felt like it was time to show the world who I am, and what I can do."
And he wants people who watch the show to "see what a Steampunk artist goes through to create beautiful works from garbage, the stuff that you throw away, or that you have in your junk drawer. With Steampunk, you can create your own world. It's original."
"Steampunk'd" premieres at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19 on GSN (161 on Comcast; 71 on DirecTV; 116 on Dish Network) ; it moves to its regular 9 p.m. Wednesday time slot on Aug. 26.
-- Kristi Turnquist
kturnquist@oregonian.com
503-221-8227
@Kristiturnquist