Focus Art Sculpts

Tiny sculpts

2012-02-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

My friend Colleen, (A Dollmaking Journey) asked me about the size of this doll. She is about 7" from the tip of her toes to the top of her head. I love tiny dolls, but staying small and getting detail with paper clay can be a bit of a challenge. I use a mix of La Doll (very firm) and Premier (much softer) for the basic sculpt. I then remove excess by sanding, and/or a scalpel. Then I build areas using straight La Doll because it's very stiff and holds its shape. For example, for the lips, I add back a very tiny snake shaped piece of Premier and work it into place with a small,damp, filbert paintbrush.
You need to keep the hands small and delicate. I found the perfect tools for tiny fingernails. I've tried quite a few kinds, but this miniature set from AMC creatures, available on Etsy are fantastic, http://www.etsy.com/shop/AMCreatures. The set includes 3 sizes that work great for the thumb through the pinky.

Tiny Dancer

2012-01-30T17:46:00.000-08:00

Ballet Studio back drop:

I took a piece of black foam board, cut only half way through and folded it in half like a book for the walls of my ballet studio prop. I bought inexpensive 12 x 12 mirror tiles from the hardware store taped them together and put them inside the foam board. I found a beautiful wooden slat floor at Hobby Lobby in the miniature section...on sale it was only $6! A wooden dowel and some scrap booking embellishments were used for the ballet rail and hardware.

It's fun making props for picture taking, and it gives you a chance to play with your little creations and the ability to take photos from different angles.

Some details on the doll.

She is sculpted from LaDoll and Premier paper clay. Her legs are bead jointed with mother-of-pearl beads. The ballet slippers were made with paper clay, but embellished with silk ribbon. I had to go on U-tube to find the correct way to tie a ballet slipper....there is a correct way to wrap and tie the ribbon.

The shoes were painted with this great pink pearl paint. I just discovered it...I had looked all over for the right paint. Michael's now carries Martha Stewart paint and there is a great selection of soft colors called Pearls...pinks, greens, blues, purples..I've never seen these colors before in a metallic/pearlescent acrylic paint. I used the same color for her tutu and gathered some fine silk tulle which I dyed light pink for the skirt and bow. Her hair is English Viscose, pale blonde, and I made tiny chop sticks from sculpey which I painted and embellished with a teenie tiny rhinestones. I wrapped her hair up with silk ribbon which I curled on tiny metal knitting needles. Take a look at the close up.

Tiny dancer

2012-01-29T15:34:00.000-08:00

Wow...where has the time gone. I had a little set back with the holidays and recent chaos at work, but I am finally putting the finishing touches on my bead jointed ballerina. I even made a ballet studio prop to take some pictures. I'll give you some details on how she was made in my next post, but wanted to give you a sneak peek. She's very poseable, and so much fun to play with.

Simple jointed doll

2011-11-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make a few dolls for Christmas gifts, I thought I'd try a short cut and use some molds for the bodies. I ordered some plaster molds that are made to be used with Hearty Clay. I must be doing something wrong because it was a mess. I printed out the on-line directions and called the site for some extra guidance. In addition to the on-line tips, they recommended applying several coats of Mop & Glow to the outer edges of the molds, which I did. Despite all my efforts, the Hearty Clay kept sticking to the molds. When I tried to remove it with a little water, I lost the details, and you can't use anything abrasive, because the molds get scratched very easily.

In the end, I realized it was much quicker to just use the molds as guides and sculpt my own body parts. I've used flexible molds with Hearty clay for miniature foods with great success, but the plaster ones don't work for me. Another experiment gone wrong...... Has anyone tried them?

I had a lot of fun making a bead jointed wood/clay rabbit that I used for my Alice doll. I'm going to try a simpler variation to make a little jointed ballerina doll. I've been experimenting with a couple faces. Now everything is sanded and ready to prime and paint.

Finishing Touches Fall Fairy

2011-11-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

After all the flesh areas were based in and the paper clay vest and shoes were thoroughly dry, I applied 4 coats of Gesso before painting. I have learned from experience, Gesso first, and don't use a lot of water when you start to base in the clothing....you can actually melt details like buttons and buckles if you use too much water.
I used several shades of green for the vest, metallic gold for the buttons and buckle; and then a touch of green metallic pearl powder over the completed vest. The shoes were stippled in shades of brown and then covered with Tim Holz Copper alcohol ink. I made soles from tan Hearty clay and glued them to the bottom of the shoe.

As I mentioned in my last entry, I decided to go with Fall colors to dress my fairy. I cut pieces from some silk oak leaves and layered them together to make her skirt. When I added the clay vest I left a gap between the body and the vest, just under the waistline to allow room to glue in the skirt.
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I blushed her body and face with Pan Pastels. I made a tiny wig cap from silk and attached fine kid mohair which I dyed a deep shade of Strawberry blonde. The curls were made by wrapping small pieces of damp mohair around a fine knitting needle and baking them at 200 degrees in my Deni Oven for about 5 minutes.

I made a little hat from a piece of antique lace, which I painted with Color Hue fabric paint and then sewed on tiny green metallic seed beads....I love adding all the little details. After sealing with a few coats of Krylon Matte, shes's finished. What do you think?

Tiny fairy

2011-10-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to decide how to dress this little fairy, I think I'm going to go with the season and use silk leaves in fall colors. I made a vest of very thin Premier Clay.
I picked up a great tip at NIADA. Dianne Effner gave a short demo on making shoes from Hearty Clay and she said she uses Matte Dura-Lar between the foot and the sole of the shoe. I hadn't heard of this product, so I googled it. It's an archival, polyester mylar film. It comes in pads or individual sheets and in different thicknesses. I picked up a couple sheets at Dick Blick. I have found it has many uses...it's great for making pattern pieces because it's waterproof and doesn't curl up. It's a great surface to roll your clay out on and peel it off, and it's reusable.
I made a pattern for the fairy's vest and shoes from the Dura-Lar, placed it on top of a very thin piece of clay and cut around the pattern. It left a nice clean edge, and a very smooth surface, take a look at the photo.

I'm finally getting all my craft supplies unpacked, after a move in 2009, I discovered I still had a few bottles of Hannie Sarris paints, made me a little sad to think I had corresponded with her just a few years back and she had sent me her special paints. She was only 57 when she passed away in 2010, much too young. I still like to visit her website,http://www.hanniesarris.nl/page.php?lang=en.
I used one of Hannie's favorite colors called "Sun Kissed" to paint the body. Next I'll paint the vest and make a tiny skirt from my silk leaves.

"Tine" style fairy

2011-09-26T19:53:00.000-07:00

Tine Kamerbeek's ballerina

While at NIADA I saw sculpts done by some very talented artists, including Tine Kamerbeek. I had not seen her work before, but am now a fan. I love her elongated faces. I especially like her miniatures.... tiny, chubby, children. She often does ballerinas like the one pictured.

I decided I like to try a similar sculpt, I wanted to practice sculpting the exaggerated features on a fairy. I'm going to try a miniature 3 1/2" fairy. The face will have long tear drop eyes, chubby cheeks, and elf ears....a compact little body with over sized feet.

I made an armature of 16 gauge copper wire and wrapped it with 22 gauge copper wire. To give the piece some weight I added lead fishing weights to the shoes. I bought an assortment at Walmart. I used a cone shaped weight for the ankle area and a rounded ball piece for the toe. The lead is very soft and can be shaped with a pliers. The cone shaped weights have a hole through the center and the wire armature fits into the top. I then wrapped the wire with white floral tape. I sealed the lead with Kilz spray paint.

I used a mix of La Doll and Premier air dry clay to make this fairy. This is a tiny sculpt so I used small paint brushes to refine the features, take a look. Now she'll need an outfit!

Denver NIADA Conference 2011

2011-09-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

Tine Kamerbeek's Gallery Doll

Marlaine

This year, for the first time since I started my new job, I took a whole week off from work. I attended the NIADA annual art doll conference, which was held in Westminster, Co., just outside of Denver. I signed up for three classes and then stayed on for all the planned activities which included free workshops, demos and a flea market. The final day was the show and sale. Artists from all over the world attended, including Ankie Daanen, Marlaine Verhelst, Tatiana Baeva, Tanya Marriott, Ima Naroditskaya, Stephanie Blythe, Deborah Pope, Tine Kamerbeek ( I bought one of her small dolls), Dianna Effner and many others.

Leslie Molen

Ankie

Ankie's Chess Set

Veggie Couple

Close up of Ankie's Gallery Doll

Tine Kamerbeek

Marlaine

Marlaine's Gallery Doll

Ankie Daanen

Ankie Doll

I took two classes with Deb Pope; a one-day costuming class and a 2-day needle felted animal head. The third was a class with Stephanie Blythe called Manipulating and Embellishing Textiles. Both teachers shared a wealth of information including favorite supplies and techniques. I finished a needle felted rabbit head, now I have to work on all the details...take a look at Deborah's finished Jack Rabbit. At the banquet, which was hosted the last night, everyone received a souvenir doll, designed and hand painted by Reina Mia Brill.

Deborah Pope's rabbit

Deborah's Costuming class

Reina's Souvenir Doll

Finished Pumpkin Fairy

2011-09-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

Back from the NIADA conference and finally had some time to finish my Pumpkin Fairy. I painted all the pieces and antiqued them with Min Wax Gel Stain, aged oak color. I made the crown from paperclay, stamped it, base coated with Deco Art black pearl and then added some silver Gilder's paste to give it a metallic look. I used Duncan Super Matte to seal the face and added just a touch of ultra fine glitter. As Christy recommended, I added a very tiny 3ss Swarovski AB crystal to the hi-light in her right eye. Christy said it's a secret she learned from German toy makers. I love the sparkle it adds to the eye.

I made her cape from a great fabric I found at JoAnns...it looks like spider webbing, and finished her off with silk wings, wired Halloween ribbbon and a sparkling wand.

Base coating

2011-08-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

Primed and ready to paint

Skull Cap

This angel fairy doesn't get hair, the instructions call for a grooved line to be drawn around the face. The top of the head gets painted orange like a little cap. I wanted a more 3 dimensional look, so I rolled some LaDoll paper clay very thin into a circle. I put a thick rubber band around the face for a border, from the top of the forehead to the chin. I trimmed one end of my clay with a scalpel for a nice sharp edge. I butted the cut edge up against the rubber band and folded the excess towards the back of the head, pinching darts in place and cutting off the extra clay. The result gives you a perfectly formed little skull cap which will give the head a little more dimension. Next, I gave all the parts a final sanding and primed everything with Liquitex Acrylic Heavy Body white paint, it serves to smooth everything out even further and acts like a coat of Gesso. At this point my angel is ready to be painted.

On-Line Art Retreat

2011-08-13T23:34:00.000-07:00

I've taken two sculpting classes, although the travel can be expensive and time consuming, I like the fact that you leave with a finished, or at least partially finished project. I've also taken a few on-line classes, usually they consist of a PDF with photos that you can download, and a chat-room is available to ask questions. I like having the written instructions and photos, but I must admit, there are a few I have just printed out, put to the side, with good intentions....of doing them later, and they never got started.
A few months ago I received an e-mail with information about a site called Artful Gatherings. They host an annual art retreat that allows you to take classes without the travel, and without the travel expenses. For a one time charge of $5 you are given access to the site where you can register for classes. This year's retreat started on July 16th and runs through August 28th. During this time you have 24/7 access to your workshop classroom. There were 18 workshops to choose from. I chose just one class, offered by Christy Meyers... aka "CC's Whimsies". She and her husband, "the elf", put together 8 videos, for a total of 2 1/2 hours of viewing time. These videos take you through all the steps to create Christy's "Pumpkin Fairy". They include sculpting, sanding, painting and finishing.
The supply list was lengthy and some items were difficult to find, but there is a open forum that allows you to ask questions of both the teacher and students. Many provided solutions for the hard to find items. There are 82 members in Christy's classroom, so I'm assuming 82 students. There is also a very active Comment Wall, where students share information on their progress, tips, problems/solutions. You can add your own photos of work-in-progress, as well as completed sculpts. Some participants just chat...and that's great too.
Christy's project is a paper clay pumpkin fairy, I've had one other paper clay class with Ankie Daanen. Every artist has their own unique techniques, and I find it interesting to try different methods.

One thing I learned from Ankie's class, I really prefer La Doll/Premier paper clay. La Doll is very light, Premier is a heavier, stronger paper clay, I usually blend a 1 to 3 mixture, it provides a great consistency to work with and holds fine detail. Because it's so smooth it requires a lot less sanding. I like to work details in the face with a paint brush...it gives you more control than using just your fingers. This project called for Creative Paper Clay which has a different consistency, and is no longer being carried by Michaels....I went back to my LaDoll/Premier mix.

Christy is a lot of fun, you can tell she enjoys her work, she works with very simple tools and doesn't get too fussy....my downfall....I'm too much of a perfectionist.
I added just a few tools to her list, a couple paint brushes, a rubber dental tool, scalpel blade and a clay blade. I already had the Jack Johnson sculpting tool, which she recommended, so I used that quite a bit as well.

Christy's husband demo'ed the sanding portion of the video, using 100 to 250 grit sand paper and an Exacto knife to define lines. I tried the paper but had a very difficult time controlling it...so I switched to some flexible sand paper that has a thin foam backing and a sanding sponge, it really works great and its much easy to get around the curves of the face. When using this flexible sanding paper you need to use a finer grit, it seems to have a better bite than paper....try 400, 600, 1200...it's fast and gives your piece a super fine finish, take a look at the photos.
So as of this evening I've got all my pieces sculpted....tomorrow I'll start painting.

Susan Fosnot Class

2011-05-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I attended a workshop given by Susan Fosnot at the Woodstock Court House, a historic landmark that has been turned into a Community Art Center.
Susan is a very talented cloth doll artist who resides in Woodstock, IL. She gets her inspiration from 19th century dolls, Izannah Walker is a favorite. In the past she used oil paints to achieve the vintage look. This involved painting many layers of gesso on a cloth head, sanding, and oil painting...a long tedious process. She has recently perfected a method of applying acrylic medium, along with acrylic paints, directly to the fabric, which results in a very similar look and saves a lot of time.

In the class we learned to sew and stuff a cloth head, probably the most critical part of making this doll. The head has to be sewn and stuffed carefully so you have a very firm, well shaped face to paint on. The fabric and stuffing have to be carefully chosen as well.... to wick up the medium and water. Susan said plain muslin works well for the head fabric and Mountain Mist for the stuffing. She uses a higher quality fabric for the body, which doesn't get painted.

After our heads were sufficiently stuffed and closed off we covered them with a mixture of Liquitex Acrylic Medium & Varnish mixed with water. Several coats were applied until the head absorbed the liquid. This solution keeps the fabric damp for about four hours, which gives you plenty of time to apply Liquitex acrylic paint to create the face. It also allows for easy blending. You then need to let the head dry over night...then you can go back in and apply small details, like the white hi-light in the eyes. We had time to paint two doll heads. Susan had a darling pattern for an Asian child's face that a few woman tried. I thought they all turned out great. Susan provides a pattern for the body, as well as instructions to complete an outfit and hat at home.

The dolls we made are from a pattern Susan has published called "Zinna". Zinnia is eight and a half inches tall. She has a round head, but a rather flat face. Her features and hair are created with paint. You could use textural paint if you wanted to add hair with some dimension. Shoes and socks can also be painted, or you can make your own tiny shoes, which is what I will do. Her complexion is delicate and pale. Since her facial colors work well with the color of old muslin, her arms, legs and torso can be left unpainted.
In the past I've always worked with clay, it was interesting working with fabric... using just paint to create a face with depth and dimension.

Something new

2010-03-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

My friend Colleen got me interested in making
miniature foods again. They make great props for your OOAK creations. Polymer clay works great, but there are many different clays you can use. I started experimenting with a variety of Japanese air drying clays, including Grace clay.... transparent and whipped cream, and Sukerukun transparent clay. They come in many colors or you can just purchase white or clear and tint it with paint. There are also many molds available, on websites like Etsy, to get you started. The flexible molds work best for polymer clay. Sprinkle a little baby powder into the rigid molds before you fill them with clay, it makes it a lot easier to remove the small pieces. You can also use small cutters in various shapes, or just design your own sweet treats. But the fun is in the decorating. I made miniature jimmies from pastel polymer clay and purchased tiny glass micro beads, the Martha Stewart brand works great, you can get a variety pack at Michaels for $6.50 with a 50% off coupon. Also Scribbles dimensional shiny paint makes realistic chocolate or caramel toppings.
I used Golden Light Molding Paste for whipped cream and frosting, just add a little paint to make different colors. Fill a small pastry bag with the Paste and then use the smallest Wilson cake decorating tips. I tried the #1S,13,14,16,24. With a little practice you can pipe out stars, leaves, flowers and fancy frostings, (tips available on the Wilton website starting at .99 cents). There's a good variety of Japanese transparent sauces that come in strawberry, mango, blueberry, kiwi etc., that also make great toppers. You can puchase fake powdered sugar, granulated sugar, coconut shavings, chocolate chips, or just make your own.
Polymer fruit canes come in every fruit you can imagine, both common and exotic, and they are very inexpensive on Etsy, just cut slices as thin or thick as you need them. I also made miniature stawberries and cherries. They're great for adding that finishing touch to your miniature sweet treats.
There are many books available for making miniature sweets, most are in Japanese, but the pictures provided give adequate directions and lots of good ideas for decorating in miniature.

I made an ice cream cone for Rhonda to hold. I used a tiny round waffle mold, rolled the waffle around a cake decorating tip, and let it air dry. Then I piped in some textural paint for ice cream and decorated it with my miniature jimmies and a slice of a polymer clay cane that looks like a real orange slice. The air drying clays are flexible, so the cone fits nicely into Rhonda's hand, you don't need to force it.

I also made miniature candy sticks from polymer for embellishment. Just make two thin tubes of your favorite colors and twist together. Roll again, cut into small lengths and bake. I like the look of lemon sticks in ice cream.

Give it a try, you don't need a lot of space or a lot of time, and best of all....it's not fattening.

Rhonda and Rex are ready for a walk

2009-06-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

Rex is anxious to get out for a walk and Rhonda needs to get dressed. I made a two layer skirt of miniature lace and sheer bronze organza which has a free form edge that was made using a mini tip soldering tool which I purchased from England. She has a sheer silk ruffed blouse and a faux leather hand stitched jacket which I embellished with micro trim. For accessories she has real leather shoes with tiny straps and buttons and a leather belt with a tiny gold buckle.

Her hair is baby angora, hand dyed a beautiful shade of auburn red. She sports a pink ribbon in her hair which matches Rex's pink collar and leash.

Take a close look at her eyes, I used a two part epoxy resin for a glass like finish. It almost looks like water when it dries and adds a realistic look to her eyes.

Rhonda's armature and costuming

2009-06-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, Rex is finished and I'm returning to Rhonda. She now has a fully sculpted body and movable arms. My next project was to knit miniature stockings. I used 6/0 knitting needles and 1 Ply Cobweb Yarn to create her striped leg ware.

I dyed some of the ivory yarn a warm brown to match her outfit.

Rhonda & REX a new sculpt

2009-05-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

For my next sculpt I want to try a more whimsical character, stretch the guidelines for correct proportions. Rhonda will be a 4 1/2" child, ready to go for a walk with her loyal bull terrier, Rex.

Rex has a full wire armature and was sculpted using Fimo classic with inset black onyx eyes. After sculpting he was painted with an acrylic base coat and then flocked with alpaca fibers. I used Alpaca 18 by RG in black and white and cut it up to a fine powder using a Dr. Slick scissors. I carefully applied Clear Gel Tacky glue with just a tint of white paint and applied fiber to small sections at a time.

Rex was then shaded with Pan pastels to hi-lite his fur, with special attention given to his paws, ears and mouth. I applied a light spray of Krylon to seal the chalk.

A bright pink collar and leash from Aztec Miniatures and he's ready to go.

My version of Alice in Wonderland

2009-01-31T19:26:00.000-08:00

I just finished my entry for the International Art Doll Registry IADR. This month's show features story book characters and is called Bambino Romanzo .

I always wanted to create my own version of Alice in Wonderland, because my daughter looked like this when she was young.

Alice is 16" tall, constucted with a strong wire armature She can stand alone and has movable sculpted arms and legs. Her dress is made from a fine cotton micro check and her apron was created from an antique handkerchief, with beautiful miniature lace work. Her shoes are real leather with soles, heels and tiny brass buckles. She has fine silver WireLace stockings and a petticoat trimmed with ribbon. Her hair is soft baby angora mohair.

The white rabbit is handmade, with a wooden body, arms and limbs. He is fully jointed, even the head moves. The hands, feet, and face were sculpted with La Doll. I was looking for a porcelain like finish. Everything is hand painted, no stencils were used. I even carved the tiny trumpet he holds. The only thing that was purchased was the small 22 kt gold plated pocket watch, which I got from Ginny at Hbbrass.

I really enjoyed making this doll and I hope you like it too!

The Eyes Have It

2008-12-22T16:21:00.000-08:00

Eyes are such an important part of a sculpt. They make it come to life. I mentioned in my last post I've been experimenting with different mediums to make an eye with more depth. Thanks to my friend Colleen (dolljourney.blogspot) she directed me to a sculptor's website that had a great tutorial http://www.fairiesndreams.com/ That site also referred me to another site, http://www.renatajansen.co.uk/ that had addition eye tutorials. While I didn't follow them completely, I did get ideas from both. And I always wanted to know what they were referring to on ebay when they said a sculpt did not have computer generated eyes........now I know how those are made. You print tiny irises onto transparency paper with your ink jet printer and carefully cut them out, you can see the steps on the fairies and dreams site. I thought the result was still a little flat so I hi-lighted and out-lined the iris with watercolor paint right on top of the printed iris on the dull side of the transparency paper. I think I like the glass eyes I did with the glass and metallic paint the best.......the liquid fimo gives them a nice clear lens. I must warn you though, be very careful with the thickness of the fimo gel and baking them very slowly by adjusting the oven temperature every ten minutes..........or you get cloudiness and bubbles........destroys the eye.........

When you're done with the oven curing you can use your heat gun to make the lens even shinier.

Take a look at these photos.......you can use a lot of interesting colors and tints for fantasy eyes.

Christmas Elf

2008-12-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

Finally finished my elf......I put many hours into this little guy. He's 9" tall, with sculpted head, arms and lower legs. The body is needle sculpted with a wire core and is gently posable. His hair is a rich auburn kid angora mohair, which I hand dyed myself. I re-worked his eyes several times. I'm not happy with the results I've gotten with acrylic paints and varnish, they don't seem to give the eyes enough depth. I've been working with some new mediums and experimenting. I think I've come up with a combination that looks much more realistic using glass paints, metallics and a two part epoxy glaze which simulates glass, it even wells up in the corners of the eyes. I also applied real hair eyelashes, one by one.

Costuming:

I used a mini print metallic brocade for the vest, a mini stripe corduroy for his knickers that have little gold buttons on the cuff, black suede for his elf boots and belt, all with tiny buckles. And a black velvet cap with antique style button and feathers.

His stack of presents is decorated with miniature candies....a candy cane, ribbon candy and peppermints.....all topped with a bow.

Click on the finished photo for a closer look. I've also included a photo of all the pieces before he was assembled.

Sculpting stand

2008-12-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

I've been looking at different sculpting stands, to use for full body sculpts. Some of them are pretty pricey. I found a link on a sculpting website to a free video on how to build your own. It's really quite easy and you can buy all the materials at a hardward store for about $10. It works great, it rotates and is adjustable for different heights...........here's a photo. I had no problems putting it together after watching the video and making notes.

You can view the video at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...10073597844707

New Oven

2008-12-05T16:16:00.000-08:00

How many times have you burned clay in your toaster oven? I bought a Cuisinart convection toaster oven because I thought it would be better than the cheaper ones out there. I even got a liquid thermometer so I could make sure I had the correct temperature. I don't know how many times I burned or darkened clay in it........especially tiny fingers, it's very frustrating. I tried aluminum foil tents, lower temperatures, different baking times, nothing seemed to work.

I finally decided to look for something else. I found a Deni Convection oven on the Morezmore ebay store and e-mailed the gal and asked her about it. She sculpts a lot of polymer clay and it's the one she uses. I got it about a month ago and I LOVE it. The oven shuts off when the timer runs out.......no more running to turn the oven off. It blows hot air from the top and circulates it around the dish.......I haven't burned anything yet......even re-baking tiny hands.

Natasha, from Morezmore, did say she uses a liquid thermometer to check the temperature because the control knobs on the oven aren't extremely accurate. She also said to insulate your sculpt with a folded cloth napkin if it gets close to the glass bowl, because the glass gets hotter than the air circulating in the oven.

He has a face

2008-10-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

Just finished my elf face. I used Genesis heat set paints and a touch of oil pastels. For the eyes I used Pro Paint from Reaper Miniatures, with a touch of metallic.

Individual applied lashes. He looks mischievious to me..........what should I have him doing?

Starting a new sculpt

2008-10-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a Christmas elf using the clay mix Dianne Keeler told us about, cernit, super sculpey and white classic fimo. I like the consistency, although it did take a little time to adjust to it. The baked clay has a very nice translucent appearance as you can see in the photo. Now I need to add some color and paint in the eyes.

On Saturday, I received the fleece I ordered from Patricia Keeley, Autumn Hills Woollens and Sheep Co. Gorgeous, blue faced Leicester......it's a soft white with beautiful curls. Patrica's fleece is great to work with, very clean and easy to comb out. It will make great hair for my elves and santas., take a look at this fleece I just washed.

The Toad Prince

2008-10-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

A real prince or just another toad?

Patterned after a picture I saw of a prehistoric toad.......full body sculpt with wire armature, black onyx eyes with metallic hi-lights and oil pastels for his skin coloring. A crown finished to look like hammered brass with small fleur-de-lis finding.

OFFF

2008-10-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I attended the Flock and Fiber Festival in Canby, Oregon. It's a great event and I met so many wonderful people. There are fiber arts demonstrations and many hands on activities. I even tried spinning for the first time, I have to admit I felt a little klutzy.

I met a woman from Germany who was demonstrating bobbin lace making.....it was quite amazing, she said it was easy, but I have my doubts.

One of my favorite parts though, is viewing all the animals. I made three trips to the barns. I love the angora, blue faced leicester, lincoln, icelandic, alpacas and many other varieties that breeders bring to the fair for judging. The people that participate are so friendly and truly love their animals.

I also went upstairs in the Main building and to see the samples submitted for the fleece competition. I met a very nice woman, Patricia Keeley, when I was admiring her 1st place blue faced leicester fleece....I need to buy some of that!

Some of the priced fleece is available for purchase, I split a bag of 1st place Icelandic x Lincoln fleece with a young "spinner", TJ (Tracy Jane). She and I were both amazed by all the beautiful shades and textures of black, grey and brown in this very soft wool fleece, but we didn't need 3 pounds of it! TJ can't wait to see what it looks like spun, and I'm anxious to try it out on a doll.

Speaking of buying, there are so many fiber vendors, with some great products at reasonable prices. I spoke with Sarah Anderson, who I met last year. One of her hand-made yarns was featured in Spin-off this past spring....it's amazing. I've purchased quite a few beautiful fibers from her booth and incorporated them in doll clothing.

I just received some awesome, kid angora goat mohair, which I ordered from Lin Schwider, who I met at the OFFF, www.thepinesfarm.com , she won first place for her angora fleece.

Queen LadyBird

2008-09-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

Queen of the Lady Bugs

An OOAK full body sculpt with artist made inset eyes. She has an anemone crown adorned with Swarkovski crystals and cultured pearl. Her shell is a gourd that has been lined in velvet, trimmed in metallic braid and gold leafed. Small skeletonized leaves form the wings. She has a regal silk brocade gown, gold wire mesh sleeves and a period collar.
Her tiny shoes are of dupioni silk with micro bead trim and real leather soles.

A sculpted labybug rests in her hand.

She has a dreamy look in her eyes, as she recalls a fond memory from long ago.