Mariachi Band Continued

Yep, the last few days before Christmas were spent finishing up the band. It was a gift and I couldn't really post much for fear of giftee seeing things. Here are more steps involved.

Little Mariachi Band

I got a request to make a Day of the Dead Mariachi Band. I finally got started. One will have a horn, one a guitar, and one a drum.

More Soft Sculpture Pics

Here are a few more pics I took of Lisa's work. The pics are mine, the work is hers, so please respect that and no copying without permission. Thank you.

This is Lisa's very first soft sculpture. Her art teacher at the time told her during an entire art session how bad it was and how she would never be an artist.

This is one of her latest pieces. Angel of Destruction. And those are real turkey feathers. She even made the sword out of paper clay.

Soft Sculpture Workshop Pics

I was going to do this post yesterday but friends invited me over for a bonfire and snacks.  So I went.  It was wonderful being with friends, making new friends, and hanging out with my soon-to-be eight month old niece.  She's a stitch.  It was a little warm for October in North Carolina but the evening sky was clear and the stars were amazing.

Lisa allowed us to take pics of her work.  The pics are mine, the figures are hers.  She does fantabulous work and is continuing her soft sculpture classes the rest of the year and scheduling for next year.

A close up of a head Lisa was working on to show the stitches of the eyebrows.

Jump.  She's so cute and playful.

The hands have plastic mittens on them because Lisa said the finger tips get dirty fast and the dirt shows up when covered with the panty hose.  A good tip to know.

You can just make out the stitches in the torso and thighs.

Some of Lisa's earlier characters.

This old gents eyes are painted to have cataracts.

Love this biker dude.  The hair on his chest is thread.

A cute little baby.  I'm going to have to learn how to make an open mouth.  We did get a quick tutorial.

Zombie Couple Done

I finished my first commission since I started on my new creative journey. A zombie wedding couple to be given to a husband by his wife on their wedding anniversary. Hubby likes zombies. It works for me. I'm pleased by the way they turned out and their new mom loves them. I also go another commission.

In Progress

I was having fun this past weekend.

Works in Progress

Sometimes you just have to get away and I'm so glad I have great friends in my corner. They shanghaied me yesterday. This month just isn't going well. Maya was going to take me to Mt Airy but her car protested so she took us (Amanda too) to the movies and we saw the latest Ice Age. Wonderful flick. Then she invited me over for dinner. I needed to get out of the apartment so that I could breathe and laugh. I needed that.

I have been more consistent with my writing and editing. I really doing a great job on edit #4 on my Map Hunter manuscript. The goal is to write new material and edit old material everyday, no matter what. Even if it's just for 15 minutes each. Map Hunter is the adventure I wanted to read when I was a kid. The main character looks like me.

I also managed to cover more heads with tape.

And a pair of lower legs. The tiny ones will be covered with polymer clay, the larger heads with Creative Paper Clay. That's what I'm using now. I've tried other air dry clays, but I have this on hand.

Works in Progress

Things are moving along. Still not where I think I should be but at least I'm moving in the right creative direction. These pieces are for an upcoming local craft show. Like two weeks from now.

More voodoo doll pins. They seem to do well. I do have ideas for new ones. They will be evolving in the near future.

Angel ornaments that are being transformed into faeries. Don't you just love the colors? They may also be getting a new design soon.

Something totally new. Foil forms for polymer dolls. Scary, yes. It's not like I haven't done polymer dolls before, I'm just not confident in doing them. I have sold two since I've been here in North Carolina, so this may be a good thing. I'm putting it out there so if you don't see any progress within the next week, you have permission to bug me.

I guess I'll go do something creative now. Have a great day!

One Step

I'm late, I'm late. So sorry. It's just been so horribly hot and the brain was malfunctioning a bit. Getting back into form though. Last week I had one step back and two forwards. The step back was one of the shops I have my work in isn't going to be carrying crafts anymore. It is what it is. She has to do what's going to get more business into her shop to stay viable. I get that. I didn't fall into a vat of poo or despair, or get upset, or angry. I'm getting a lot better with disappointment and deals falling through. I told myself that something else would come up, even though I really didn't believe it at the time. Bad Wendy.

Two steps forward. I was asked to put work in a new gallery in Rockingham County. I'll get a contract in the mail. I was told that they didn't have dolls at that particular store. Great! Yay me! I will have to come up with something unique for the holidays. The other step forward, I got Smitty's Notes 2012 Best Local Artist, Runner Up Award. I couldn't believe it when a friend told me. Yes, I jumped up and down and squealed. I hope I didn't scare the neighbors. Who cares, they have been known to be overly loud at times.

So, I am moving forward. Still working on a schedule of some sort but really working to enjoy the moment of creating.

I designed a new angel ornament for a workshop to be scheduled for November. It's larger than my regular angel ornaments and a bit more time was needed to get these little beauties done. But that's okay, it's for a class. Others will be able to enjoy making and giving these as gifts. They are about 7 inches high.

I love Egyptology and I'm going to get started on Anubis. Did some research and started sketching.

I'll work on his armature in the next couple of days. It should be fun to see how he turns out. If he is a success, I may have to add a few more.

The Reader- in progress

It's hot! But I was able to continue work on The Reader. I had her armature done, so I guess I'll show that pic. This is another version of a stump doll.

Her skirt form is a floral styrofoam cone. Heavy floral wire forms her torso arms, and neck.

I marked lines to figure out how long her arms should be. I had to remember that hands are going to be attached on the ends of the wire.

I forgot to take a pic of the felt around the cone. It's now ready to be wet felted. This is my fourth time wet felting. Twice have been short of disastrous, so I was keeping my fingers crossed. This was the first time wet felting over a support. I got directions from Marie Spaulding at Living Felt. After putting and lightly needle felting wool onto the cone, I placed tulle over the cone and then a stocking. Then the felting began. Soap, hot, agitate, cold, hot, agitate some more, cold rinse, hot, cold again, and a little squeeze. I truly didn't know what to expect. If it was a massive fail, I could cover the cone with fabric. As I held my breath, I took off the stocking and was quite pleased. I wasn't ready to get excited just yet. Then I took off the tulle and just about cried like a baby. It had worked. It feels soooooo good when something works.

As you can see, it came out quite well. I'm so tickled and I will most definitely try wet felting again. Now I have to let this dry and work on her head. 

Cheers!

The Reader

I aided in a workshop with Akira Blount and created some lovely faces. One face in particular was quite lovely and I wanted to finish her and call her the Reader. I wanted to make a series of readers because I love to read and I think that everyone else should partake in the fun. Since I'm working in a new medium and need as much practice as I can get, I thought I'd do her in wool instead of cloth.

Here is the cone that will be the base of her skirt and a papier mache fake book that will be part of her stand.

My friend Katie was nice enough to pose for me holding a book.

I like the position of her free hand and the curve in her stance.

A close-up of her hand with the book. She is quite unusual in the holding of books when she reads. She apologized for it but I think I might use it. We readers are unique individuals anyway.

A different view of her hand and book.

And I like the tilt of her head. I've gotten started with the armature but haven't uploaded the pics yet. I'll probably start needle felting tonight too. Thanks for stopping by.