Wauwatosa troll inspires Halloween costume, man explains creation

WAUWATOSA, Wis. - The giant wooden troll known as "Mama Rosa" continues to turn heads in Wauwatosa, and a local man's handmade Halloween costume – inspired by the sculpture – caught people's attention this year, too. 

The backstory:

Danish artist Thomas Dambo's larger-than-life troll sculptures can be found around the world. He's made more than 150 of them in several countries and 20 states. All of his artwork promotes sustainability. 

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In May, Mama Rosa was unveiled in Wauwatosa. Mama Rosa is the first Dambo troll in Wisconsin. Made out of recycled trees and scraps from the city, the sculpture stands more than 24 feet tall and weighs more than 4,000 pounds.

Mama Rosa resides at Wauwatosa's Firefly Grove Park, near 116th and Gilbert.

How it's made

What they're saying:

Elliot Lund joined FOX6 News to explain the inspiration, process and public debut in the Washington Heights area. Below are highlights of his live interview with Kim Murphy and Ben Handelman, edited for clarity.

Handelman: How did this come about? You told me you don't make a crazy costume every year. This was kind of a first.
Lund: We were sitting with some friends and the conversation turned to Halloween costumes, and somebody asked me what I was going to be, and my mind was blank, and then I blurted "Mama Rosa." Their reaction let me know that I had now made a commitment.

Murphy: Take us from head to toe. It's like three parts of this. How did you start with the head?
Lund: It's a lampshade, first of all, for the head, so I found that at Goodwill, and we're like, OK, we're in business. But the hardest part of this was to be able to see, so actually right up in the hairline there's a little camera, and that's my only view of the world when I'm in there (from a screen inside). 

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Murphy: Tell me about the body. 
Lund: I didn't think this was going to be the hardest part, but it was. It's basically a hula-hoop, a reed frame, and then a bunch of balsa…hung it all on burlap. I think there's probably 18 sticks of hot glue in there – if I ever get too close to a fire, I'll be in trouble.

Handelman: Where'd you find the lamps?
Lund: I did find the perfect wine glass, like, you know, semi-disposable, like you'd use at a wedding. Got some PVC, and my oldest son helped me to heat, shape – the hands, too, I didn't realize how much time those were going to take. 

Handelman: How do you get it to light up like that?
Lund: Each of those, it's a little battery-powered light, but it's all of those little details that I had a lot of fun with as I was making it. And I think it's what makes it feel magical. Like it's out there, especially in the dark. People were like – they didn't ask questions about the costume. It was, "It’s Mama Rosa!" Every picture that people asked to take, I was smiling behind the mask, full grin. It was just a great time.

Handelman: How many hours have you put into this thing? 
Lund: It's between 40 and 50 hours now. I started in the beginning of September, knew this was gonna be a project…it was about eight to nine weeks of building, just in the evenings and weekends and late nights. And my wife was so patient with me.

Murphy: There was some engineering in here. I mean, the angles, the measurements, it's all proportional.
Lund: Favorite moment of mine I was next to my youngest who was trying to build a magnet tile tower next to me as my torso was falling apart, and we were both so frustrated – his tower kept falling, my torso wasn't working. We did some breathing exercises together. That was just a great moment.

Murphy: The sticks are from your backyard, Mama Rosa's hair. You said the eyebrows, sentimental?
Lund: The eyebrows, we had an apple tree in our backyard until this year, it's actually why we moved to the house, but it was old and we don't get to have the tree anymore except for those eyebrows.