Soft Sculpture Workshop 3

Day one of the workshop produced a nice face padded with foam and a layer of batting.  Day two was spent covering the face with panty hose and tacking it in place.  That was a long day and by the time it was over, my eyeballs were protesting.  A lot.  I think that was the toughest day.  Day three we worked with eyelashes, learning to mix paint for the lips, mixing pastels for the finishing.  Lisa likes to paint very light because she wants the modeling of the foam and batting to show through the hose.  I painted my miss (no longer a guy) and got her lashes on.  I will probably trim her lashes again and add a bit more pastel to her face.

Don't you just love those alien eyes?

The marble eyes have been turned around so as not to get glue or scratch the painted eyes.

The eyebrows are stitched on in layers and several different colors.  I want to add a bit more color to her face.

Me and her.  No name just yet.  I will add the back of her head and a very large body.  She'll be the only one.  I don't have much room in my apartment but she is bugging me to be finished.

Me and Lisa and our faces.  It was good to see Lisa make one along side of us so we knew what was going on.  Lisa also gave us a DVD of all the steps of what we did that weekend because we didn't have time to take notes.  Is that cool or what?

Marcia and her work.  Sorry about the pics because this one was a cutie.

Dawn and her piece.  Also wonderful.  She had wanted to make a male and hers did a change too.  Actually, her face still can go either way.

Patty and her cutie.  Patty was the one who asked some good questions that Lisa will add to her next class.

The gang.

Soft Sculpture Workshop 2

This was a crazy week.  Heck, the past two weeks were crazy busy and dangerous.  Last week I almost got hit five times by cars and one city bus.  No one was paying attention.  It was Jupiter's fault.  Yep, that's it. Darn that Jupiter for being so close.  Any hoo, here is more of my workshop.

This the second day where we started to cover the foam face.  And yes, it is pantyhose.  The eyes have been rolled back to protect Lisa's wonderful paint job.

Alien eyes.  My marbles were green.  So out-of-space like, don't you think?  Once it was pinned, we had to carefully slit the hose.  That was scary.  Then we had to stitch the hose into place around the eyes and then the nose and mouth.

Right here, he still looks like a guy.  I was trying to channel a pirate.

31 Days of Halloween -2

I know, I know.  I'm behind on my 31 Days.  So here is a watercolor painting I did today. The paper is long, 9 2/3" by 4 1/4".  The paper was in a Sennelier block and I used Nicholson's Peerless Water Colors, the complete edition.  I guess I should have taken a pic of those.  That's on my list.  I don't have to go anywhere Saturday or Sunday, so maybe I can catch up.

I seriously have to save up for an editing program.  I took this on my cell phone.  I may do another one.  A female.  Thanks for stopping by.

Today I also cut out ten more Bat Santas and I basted the facing on my red blouse so I can put in the buttonholes tomorrow.  Yay!  I'll finally have something new to wear.

Soft Sculpture Workshop

Last month I took a soft sculpture workshop with renowned artist Lisa Lichtenfels.
http://www.lisalichtenfels.net/

I have wanted to take a class from her for about twenty years. I had been bugging her over several years and one day, I am going through my emails and a new one popped up saying Lisa Lichtenfels Soft Sculpture Class. I just about fell off my chair. I immediately clicked on the email and read how she had revamped her technique to make it easier to teach. I responded right away and became one of five students. I didn't know how I was going to get there but I knew I had to go. And I'm glad I did.

I begged, borrowed, and pleaded with friends and relatives to get me to this class. It was touch and go for many moments but I got there. It was the first time I'd been on a plane in thirteen years and at a doll type workshop in eleven.

The first day of class we worked on the skull. Actually it was half a skull, the back of it was flat. Lisa had prepped part of it for us with the eye sockets in and the whole thing covered with white batting. We chose our eyes which were shooter marbles and hand painted by Lisa. I believe we were the last class to get hand painted Lisa eyes. I feel so honored. We started with the eyelids, the eyes, and built up the features. It was kind of weird being able to roll the eyes around so they wouldn't get scratched up. At that point, my creation looked like an alien.

Part of Lisa's workshop. The place where magic happens.

The hand painted marbles and mohair that has been moussed and curled with a curling iron.

My face. For the first day, I thought it was going to be a male.

Layering on the foam. Brown eyes.

Foam is all pinned down. Alien eyes.

Classmate Peggy.

Classmate Marcia.

Classmate Dawn.

Lisa signing her book for me. That was the first thing I packed.

Lisa holding her book. Lisa is the most wonderful person with so much talent and advice to give. She answered all questions, never holding anything back and repeating things until we got it. To any of you doll makers out there, if you get a chance, take a workshop from Lisa. She is most awesome, caring, and funny.

Stay tuned, more to come.

Happy October

Here it is, a new month. Unbelievable. Where has the year gone? I guess it doesn't matter because time will march on whether we are on board or not. So I guess I'll have fun this month. Last month was a blur. I had a craft show which was okay. The economy still sucketh. I turned in my doll to the Children's Museum of Winston-Salem and had several workshops with third graders. I took a wonderful soft sculpture workshop and I helped friends at a catering event. I got started working with the costume shop at Old Salem and got the go ahead to work on a project with the Historic Bethania Visitor's Center. And now there's a new month.

I will work harder to post more often. And I really want to do a challenge for myself. 31 Days of Halloween. Or October. It'll be interchangeable. I will paint, sketch, make a doll, or do some sewing project during the month of October. I will tell you about the workshop in stages. Got lots of pics. But for now here is my first day of Halloween. October. You know what I mean.

First page in my new sketchbook that has been hanging around for a long time. They may or may not be turned into something 3D. I don't know. They're kind of cute. More tomorrow. Have an outstanding October.

Bat Santa Ornaments

Getting ready for a show this weekend. Here are my Bat Santas. I'm more Halloween than Christmas, so here's a little mix of both.

Merri the Water Wing Mermaid

Merri is a little mermaid who like watching the human children swim with water wings. So she made her own. She is mixed media - Creative Paper Clay, FastMache, Rigid Wrap, over batting, masking tape, and wire armature. She is painted with acrylic paints and her hair is upholstery trim and fancy yarns using Mary Sanders Lazenby technique. Thanks Mary. I had fun doing her and I'm ready to make another one.

Merri's permanent home is in the Children's Museum of Winston-Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Stop by and say hi.