Fraught With Meaning

2012/365 - Day 27 part four

2012-01-27T22:56:00.004-05:00

working again on the working dog

As has been previously mentioned in this blog, I am pretty challenged when it comes to making a canid. This poor dog. I just don't know.

the working dog, before

Actually I think it might be something about how I feel that I should make a dog or dog-like creature...I should at least try. I am much more comfortable and familiar with cats and cat-creatures -- at least I feel like I am -- and I think that probably has quite a bit to do with it.

So here we go again...

I filled in the masking taped areas and then tried to add more to the ears. I think the ears were the worst part or the part that was throwing this guy off the most. There are many things wrong with this guy, I am aware of that...LOL...

...but I have too much invested in him now to just trash him.

(he hears something)

I will keep working on this guy. I am kind of looking forward to the rest of the parts -- I think my sister should come over and give me some ideas -- she's the dog person.

Still, you know...he isn't all that bad for an experimental guy.

2012/365 - Day 27 part three

2012-01-27T21:14:00.006-05:00

the drying rack

Yay -- his antlers/horns are staying up!!!

I think that this is a dream beast. I am not sure what the cat-ish guy is yet or that creepy (to me) cat/human guy...but the adorable guy on the base is a dream beast.

I think dream beast will be a type of animal -- like dog, cat, etc.

And don't let his relative size fool you -- in real life he is gigantically huge!

2012/365 - Day 27 part two

2012-01-27T16:19:00.006-05:00

filling more day time

I don't know why I have such trouble making a canid...dog, fox, wolf...doesn't matter.

Here is this guy from the "save it for later" shelf. I have always thought of him as a wolf or fox.

His face has always been a bit creepy to me -- like it is falling in on itself -- so I wanted to try and fill it in a little.

But see...still looks like a fox to me...maybe a young cartoon fox...but a fox.

Now he looks older again...but still a fox or maybe a wolf.

No...a fox.

YIKES -- until I got done with the plaster cloth! He is turning into some reeeeeeally disturbing (to me) cat human hybrid thing.

This one is freaking me out just a tad. I hope it doesn't stay like this.

And here is how the first guy from earlier today turned out with his first layer of "just putting all the pieces together" plaster cloth.

I like him so far.

(Eeeeeeeee -- look at that new cat/human guy looking at him!)

I like the way this guy stands up...nice and solid.

2012/365 - Day 27

2012-01-27T13:32:00.008-05:00

sigh...the cable box is broken...no tv to watch

What happens when I have some down time between spraying coats of varnish on the cat-creature and I am not able to watch tv?

Well...I sit at my desk and look at the "save it for later" shelf.

I snatched up this long necked cat-ish guy and tried to imagine what to do with him. I figured he needed a body.

This basket was on my desk -- but alas, the plaque the cat-ish guy is built on was too wide for the basket.

Ha! That is what wood saws are for!

My guestimate was pretty accurate!

But no...not quite right. I didn't want to have to try to figure out how to fill in the basket and how to get from the front of his neck to the front of the body.

But I got an idea for the legs and future feet -- those inner things needed to come out of the caps first.

What else...hey -- how about this box? Guess what -- it was exactly the right width.

It will be interesting to see what comes next with this guy.

(I know this guy is partly due to tv deprivation...I wonder if the lingering varnish fumes have anything to do with it?)

2012/365 - Day 26

2012-01-26T22:44:00.005-05:00

time to get back to wet work

Now that the cat-creature is done and in the varnishing stage, I am ready to get back to some wet plaster cloth work -- yay! It feels like it has been ages since I worked on anything.

Remember this guy? Here is the very first day I worked on him.

He has changed quite a bit since then. Today he still needed a bit of tweaking.

I needed to fill in some "valleys" and smooth him out.

I like this guy so much!

He is looking better now...it is hard to see in the first picture, but he was looking like he'd been in a fight and had chunks missing or something.

I worked on him enough tonight...my fingers are all pruney.

I had almost forgotten what it is like to work on something "small". Trying to smooth the plaster cloth in tight spots was a bit of a challenge...but it felt good.

He still has a few spots that need fixing and I have to figure out what the base is going to do. I also need to plot out how I will work on him so that I am not making more trouble for myself. I need to figure out in what order things need to happen.

2012/365 - Day 25

2012-01-25T18:50:00.005-05:00

hooray for the cavalry!

I had no choice -- the delivery deadline is forcing me to step waaaaaaaaaay outside of my comfort zone -- so I called in the cavalry. Thank goodness they like me.

The time had come to paint the cat-creature's face, head and hands. Peggy and Leann came over this morning to coach me, show me, walk me through it, cheer me on, and finally, make me do it on my own.

I showed Peggy what I had in mind...the colors and how I wanted the face to look. Peggy mixed the color for me and figured out how to apply the paint, then showed me how to blend the colors directly onto the piece. I am very happy with the results. I still need to touch up the pink in the ears and put the eyes on.

This is the only photo I am showing of what we did. This is where Peggy tried out the colors.

And a bit later on Joan and Alex dropped by!

UPDATE:
Since the first draft of this blog post (above) I have started to paint the eyes. The second shade of green that I wanted to use would not stay on...it just kept lifting of with each dab and/or pull of the brush -- I was forced to go with a different color -- so I went with a whole other kind of paint (my old standby, Lumiere) and I started to make the eyes metallic olive green. But I stood back a little and decided the eyes would be way too dark with that color. Gah -- I ended up mixing and blending my own new color (that I will never be able to repeat in a million years) but I reeeeeally really like how it turned out.

I need to let that dry before going any farther, but I put in little marks where the other eye embellishments will go. This cat is turning into Xanny Jr.

2012/365 - Day 24

2012-01-24T17:46:00.003-05:00

a whole lot of work, but no photos

I am spending several upon several very-achy-afterwards hours working on the cat-creature today. The delivery day looms all too near.

I think I came up with a solution for the finish on the tail today.

Miss Peggy is coming over in the morning to coach me with the painting of the face. I know exactly how I want it to look (the hands, too) I just don't know how to get there.

So...no photos today...not even any teasers or sneak peeks.

2012/365 - Day 23

2012-01-23T16:25:00.005-05:00

cool stuff today!

First, I shipped out my first set of 50 pieces of Art-o-mat art for 2012.

I also made an Art-o-mat Series Tracker page for myself so that I would know what I made this year...and see where I am count-wise.

Then -- when I got home from the post office, this was waiting for me in my mailbox!!!

My very first ever AIC 1099 Club package!

This means that Artists in Cellophane sold over $600 of my Arto-art last year and it has to be reported to the IRS on form 1099.

I was a bit worried I hadn't made it all on my own because of the Penciled In series that I make with my friend Juana Moore -- we split the $2.50 per piece for those. But doing the math (subtracting Juana's take from my total on the form) it turns out I just made it! (My take from the collaboration with Kettle on the KT Goodlove series was paid to him and he sent it to me, so that isn't included in the numbers.)

This is the first time in the 1099 Club for me and I am really excited about it. I plan on making it into the club again next year!

2012/365 - Day 22 part 2

2012-01-22T21:07:00.004-05:00

checking on the paper

The next few layers of paper went very well...as did work on another section.

However, I really messed up the face. Man...this must be a sign to wait until tomorrow.

It is seriously messed up.

2012/365 - Day 22

2012-01-22T13:51:00.006-05:00

blogging about it without revealing too much

Man -- I just spent a couple of hours (hopefully) solving the dilemma of the bottom of the base of the cat-creature. I feel okay with blogging about this (even though I said I wasn't going to show more until I deliver it) because it doesn't really reveal much of what is going on elsewhere.

When I was building the base part with the plaster cloth triangles and strips I wanted to keep the very bottom (that sits on the floor) as even as possible so that the cat-creature wouldn't be tippy.

But now it has come time to figure out how to finish off the bottom and work it into the base. I still need to keep it as even as possible.

Back to those remaining Trader Joe's bags that I have been using on the Working Dog. I dug out the jar of Yes! glue and cut little pieces where there were already deep creases in the bags and glued them to the bottom of the base. Man -- that YES! glue is seriously sticky...it is also a very old jar. Maybe the glue isn't supposed to be that thick.

I think the idea is a basically good fix because the bags are kind of thick. But that was also the problem with this fix...the bags weren't very cooperative because they weren't getting very wet. The YES! glue is incredibly thick and gooey, but not really wet. I had to change my vinyl gloves four times because they got so icked up...LOL.

So I was looking at the completed ring of paper bag pieces and the Universe/my collaborators stepped in. I got the idea suddenly to use triangles of decorative paper and matte medium. It is wet and the paper will soak up the liquid and it goes with what else I've been doing. YAY.

Well...it seems to be working (so far). I think it will need another layer but right now I need to walk away from it.

It also appears that this was a really good fix for areas within the interior with the chicken wire where the plaster cloth didn't want to stay. Another YAY!

I will check back in later tonight.

2012/365 - Day 21

2012-01-21T22:32:00.005-05:00

ready to pack up for shipping

Today I finished off the backs of the Animal People collages for Art-o-mat and added my contact info label and then wrapped them in the acetate/"cellophane". They are ready to pack up in the box and ship to Artists in Cellophane on Monday!

I like these colorful edges -- no extra label this time.

The back of the block...a portion of a page from a book published in 1922...that book was in the bookshelves at my house when I was growing up.

It probably came from an estate sale in the '60's.

2012/365 - Day 19 -- part two

2012-01-20T13:42:00.008-05:00

what else am I doing today???

In preparation for the dreaded painting of the cat-creature's eyes, I have been struggling to take some wide-eyed close up photos of the eyes of two of my cats. Ha...yeah, right.

Twink looks a bit odd in these three photos because he is in the guest bathroom sink and I had to turn the camera upside down and distract him so that he would open his eyes all the way and not grab at the camera.

Never get a black cat...they show all the dust...LOL

Pookie...geez. As soon as I would get ready to snap a picture, she'd blink or turn her head enough to make a blurry photo.

She was looking straight at me with very wide eyes most of the time...except when the camera was shooting.

That's kind of okay, though...because I mostly wanted Pookie's "make up"...the colors around her eyes.

Pookie toys with me

and her nose

Deep breath...let it out...

2012/365 - Day 20

2012-01-20T10:31:00.004-05:00

I am NOT a seamstress or pattern maker

Just sayin' -- but maybe bits and pieces from Project Runway have seeped in enough to get me through this part.

2012/365 - Day 19 part two -- Animal People part 10

2012-01-19T16:42:00.011-05:00

that's fifty!

Yay -- I completed the fifty Animal People collages I am making for Art-o-mat! Up next will be to finish off the backs nicely, add my contact info, and wrap them in the acetate sheets ("cellophane"). I should be able to ship them next Monday.

I still can't find my topics list that I wanted to cover while making these collages, but something came up today that I can talk about.

Sometimes I have images I really like that I've pulled from magazines but they are too large for the block. They usually just get placed so that I can use most of the image and then the cut off part is recycled. Sometimes, though, the cut off part of the image can be used in another collage...like with this car. And because of the angle, it almost looks (to me) like it is two different cars. It is unlikely that the two collages will be in the same column in the same machine, stacked on top of each other -- so it is unlikely that the same person will end up with two collages with parts of a single image in both collages.

And here are Animal People collages 46-50 (of fifty) for Art-o-mat.

2012/365 - Day 19

2012-01-19T16:26:00.003-05:00

gorgeous paper

The only thing I am saying about what I'm doing today is that I am working with this gorgeous paper from Hollander's in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

On this side it is marbled and glittery in small areas...

...and on this side it almost looks tie-dyed.

2012/365 - Day 18

2012-01-18T05:05:00.011-05:00

another Experimental Art Night

I got this note from Shaqe Kalaj regarding the upcoming Experimental Art Night class at Art & Ideas Gallery in Plymouth, MI:

I am excited to offer the 3D class that I have been waiting to offer. I just received the supplies for this Tuesday. We will be using assemblage in order to make a 3 dimensional object. I have a vision for this project is to do a group installation with these works. Come and experience it. You will use a particular kind of creativity that I will explain on Tuesday. The class is from 7-8:30pm and is $17. Please let me know by 7pm tomorrow night (Monday) to reserve your spot.

I thought, "well...I haven't participated in the last few Experimental Art Nights and I like 3D and assemblage so I think this sounds pretty cool." My friend Ruth and I both decided to take the class.

Although it turned out to be not quite how I would define assemblage, it was kind of entertaining. Mine turned into an exercise in forced patience.

We were given the words "build" and "gravity" and all we could use were popsicle sticks and Elmer's glue. Then we were directed to defy gravity and build whatever we wanted to while trying solve the problem of making the structure get as vertical as possible. Shaqe is planning on making some sort of installation with all of the pieces done by students of her classes.

Shaqe with an example while explaining the process.

Shaqe with another of her younger student pieces (she is listening to Kate talk about cantilever.)

the materials

I decided to try to get mine to grow vertically with as little visible support as possible. The glue works pretty quickly and I was surprised that the walls would stand up as they did.

I glued four sticks together side by side and added one more on top of the flat section in a diagonal so that it touched each piece in one small spot.

The forced patience came in the waiting for the glue to set up. It will dry clear(er).

I had to use a palette knife to slide underneath the flat glued sections to keep them from sticking to the paper on the surface of the table. Sometimes that would loosen all of the pieces and I would be forced to wait it out until the glue set up enough to move the section.

I wanted my piece to be three walls and have it be open on the fourth side so that you'd be able to walk around the walls and come inside on the open end (provided you were tiny enough to see this as a tall wall). It isn't a fort, it isn't a barricade or corral, it is just a sort of wall/structure that is open ended.

Everyone had such a different approach to working with the materials and concept:

Kate's piece

Nancy's piece

Sandra's piece

Ruth's piece

Another view of Ruth's piece -- she was going for a sort of house you might see in California with lots of decks and windows.

Another view of Kate's piece, with Nancy's in the background. Both of their structures cast really great shadows.

My completed piece. I don't think I need/want to make it any taller than it is. I accomplished what I set out to do and I am happy with it.

If I tried it again, I would go even slower and try not to use as much glue. The class session was from 7 - 8:30 -- I think we all got an impressive amount of work done in a short amount of time.

Yep -- that is plenty tall enough (for my liking) for materials of that size.

2012/365 - Day 17 part two -- Animal People part 9

2012-01-17T18:04:00.010-05:00

45 down, 5 to go

I still can't locate my topics list, but I know I was going to mention species/gender. It seems like I tend to automatically consider cats as Cat Girls and dogs as Dog Guys. I do switch them off once in a while, but it usually works out that the cat heads work better with the female bodies and the dog heads work better with males. Occasionally kittens and puppies are easier to switch. Mostly though, it is about the facial expression and body language...oh, and sometimes because I get multiple copies of magazines from different sources, some of the same images pop up in the same series.

And, in general, I have a very hard time with fluffy-coated or long-haired animals. I also can't seem to work well with ones with extremely large heads and thick necks (like horses, cows, elephants) or with birds, or with animals with next to no neck (like rodents)...they just don't "fit" as easily. I have done some, but not many.

Wow -- nearly there...these are Animal People 41-46 of fifty for Art-o-mat.

2012/365 - Day 17

2012-01-17T12:50:00.008-05:00

hmmm...

I just came home from a lovely meet up with Juana and Renee. One of the things we talked about is my dread of painting, etc. Renee said sometimes when you work on something you need to leave it for a little while and then you can see it another way.

That's what kind of what is going on with the body/base of the cat-creature. I was just now sitting here at the computer and from here, this was the view.

And it gave me an idea...

And this is what I saw.

I have been struggling with this and not knowing if I liked what I was doing with it...maybe seeing this will give me a new take on things?

The drop off days are quickly approaching.

And I know I said no more process photos of the cat-creature until it was dropped off, but I couldn't help this one. But it's not like I am showing the whole thing...and this may (or may not) remain.

2012/365 - Day 16 - Animal People collages part 8

2012-01-16T23:25:00.006-05:00

ten to go!

Well, this is kind of odd...I can't locate my list of topics to talk about with this series of Animal People for Art-o-mat. I will add it in when I find it.

For now, I want to post this blog entry to make my midnight deadline.

photo taken with Miss Peggy in mind

These are Animal People collages 36-40 of fifty for Art-o-mat.

2012/365 - Day 15

2012-01-15T18:16:00.010-05:00

working on the working dog

The Working Dog's head/face have been bothering me lately and I needed something to do for the blog post so I decided to try to fix it a little.

I have some leftover pieces of chicken wire sitting around so I tried to re-shape his head.

And since I cannot tell anything by looking at and through the chicken wire, I covered it with masking tape.

Now some across the bridge of his nose.

a little more

That looks a bit better...but still not right.

some more chicken wire to round off his nose area

My hands are telling me to quit for now...so I am going to.

His ears need adjustment, but I need to plaster cloth the additions first.

Yeah...a little better.

He looks better in person than he does in this photo.

Plaster cloth and adjustments to his ears will help...but I am not doing it tonight.

Here is a peak at the cat-creature -- that is what I have been working on for most of today.

2012/365 - Day 14

2012-01-14T22:12:00.006-05:00

feeling a bit overwhelmed

When I was painting Chime Cat I had a lot of help relaxing...tonight it sure feels like that may have been the only way I was going to get through it...and I may need to resort to that method for the cat-creature. I am feeling (quite) a bit overwhelmed.

I wasn't able to locate the glaze colors I was hoping for so I had to mix it myself. It looks to be the right consistency (compared to the other colored glaze I have) and it is acting like that other colored glaze, but I just don't know. I think I am probably overthinking things and just choking at too many possibilities and choices.

I am going to leave the small areas I worked on alone for the rest of the night and look at them fresh tomorrow. I kinda think I have made things too complicated for myself (at least at this point in my learning process with paint) and I need to just calm down and make things as simple as possible.

I also tried out tiny sections of the other idea I had for the body/base of the cat-creature. The jury is still out on that, too.

BUT --

Today I had a really great time with Ruth. She took me out to lunch for my day-after-my-birthday day and we also went to an art supply store and I used a lot of that gift card my sister gave me.

I got a bunch of paint, a large bottle of acrylic glazing liquid, a reeeeeeeeeally nice angle brush, and a carving block that I have never seen/tried before.

I also got twenty sheets of a mid-range handmade paper in several different colors.

I am testing out the idea of papering the base/body...not sure if I will do it or not.

I tried out the paint and glaze on a section of the Studio Snake.

This is the plain paint.

This is the paint with the glaze over it and next to it is just the glaze.

This is the Studio Snake section with the cat-creature's hand to show the difference. I dunno...

This is a small section of the cat-creature's face with just the glaze on it. Again, I dunno...

I also think I will continue to photograph it in its various stages, but these will be the last process photos of the cat-creature I post in the blog until after I complete it and deliver it to the Members Show at the Northville Art House at the end of the month...mostly because I want it to be a surprise.

2012/365 - Day 13

2012-01-13T22:07:00.006-05:00

SOMEday it won't be this hard

First of all...today is my birthday and I spent ALL day with my wonderful sister Sue. We had a really great time running my errands together -- fun ones and regular ones. We had delicious lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, we walked around a lot, we laughed a lot, she forgot her cell phone at my house when we left this morning and she wasn't concerned about missing calls -- we got a lot accomplished and we had a lot of fun together. But I made a promise to myself this morning that I would at least start the painting of the cat-creature tonight.

I have to believe that someday it will not be this excruciating to select a color and just paint a plaster cloth guy. I think I have got my color combinations in mind for this project. I have an idea for the base/body of the cat-creature. And I think I know what I'd like to do the the overall look of the paint job...but I am still babystepping it. I am building up my stash of "good" acrylic paint and "good" brushes.

the cat-creature "before"

the cat-creature "after"

I know, I know...it doesn't look like I did very much. I know need to relax but I would honestly rather have a root canal than paint...or choose colors.

But I have been looking at color charts and writing down a wish list of colors. I have been doing this for hours.

I started a sort of check list page of the colors I am using. I will take it with me tomorrow to yet another art supplies store.

I wrote down the paint I currently have (including the three tubes I bought today) and I listed what brands they were and if they were heavy body or not (in case it turns out that makes a difference).

Another thing I am learning tonight is that the names of colors that I am used to have nothing whatsoever to do with the names of colors of "real" paint.

Everything is going to turn out the way it is supposed to turn out. I get that. I know that whatever has been guiding me so far isn't going to dump the project now...I truly believe that. And I also truly believe and trust (and understand) that the more pieces I complete, the more confident I will become.

Tomorrow Ruth and I will be going to lunch and going shopping. Sue gave me an incredibly generous gift card today and she would not let me spend any of it on art supplies during my errands -- she made me leave the card at the house. She is so sweet. Today's supplies were paid for out of my household money (someday I might tell you about my living situation). Sue said that for my birthday she wanted me to use the card to get myself fun things and have a good time and not worry about anything. Wow.

2012/365 - Day 12

2012-01-12T16:58:00.005-05:00

2nd Thursday group meeting

On the second Thursday of each month a group of local artists gets together to work on a small project together...but the main purpose of the group is to have some time together to catch up on what everyone is up to and just talk and have some fun.

We usually meet at a bar or brewery in Plymouth but tonight we met at my house in Northville.

I was also the person presenting the activities for the evening and this is the table all set up and ready to go.

I planned two activities tonight -- one was automatic drawing and the other was doing a coloring page.

William Hessian is an amazing guy. One of the bazillion things he is doing this year is a page-a-day webcomic called King of the Pill.

William is inviting folks to color a drawing that will be used as part of an upcoming animated page in the webcomic.

Learn more HERE.

There was a total of six of us at the group tonight and here are four of us coloring pages. I asked that we all do two pages each. The pages turned out really great!

Back in June when William Hessian was in Northville with his Miniature Art Hunt he stayed at my house and one night he explained the process of automatic drawing to me.

The very simplest way to describe it is that you let your pen/pencil/marker make random marks on a blank page (while you close your eyes, look away, use your non-dominant hand, etc.) and then you go back and find images within the scribbles and doodles.

We did the automatic drawing on loose sheets of paper -- it was a lot of fun. At one point we all did a page and then put them face down on the table and shuffled them and then we all pulled someone else's to find images in.

Something we did tonight that I don't usually do is color in the images. It was a cool take on the activity.

Here are some of the results of our automatic drawings:

Leann (sorry about the closed eyes photo!)

Joan

Miss Peggy

Ellen

one more from Ellen

Joan's favorite of the ones she made

my favorite of Peggy's drawings

Oops -- I forgot to take a photo of mine!

The one on the far right was made with the mystery drawing by someone else.

It was SO much fun having the meeting here at my house -- I hope we do it again sometime!

2012/365 - Day 11 part two - Animal People collages part 7

2012-01-11T15:26:00.006-05:00

cat girls on the catwalk

Because I use magazine images for my collages, many of the female bodies are runway and catwalk poses. I try not to use too many in a set of fifty Animal People for Art-o-mat, but sometimes it is a bit of a challenge to make the cat girls look less model-y.

Here are today's five assembled Animal People.

And here are Animal People collages 31-35 (out of fifty) for Art-o-mat...thirty-five down, fifteen to go!

2012/365 - Day 11

2012-01-11T13:48:00.007-05:00

MI ATC Exchange meeting tonight

The theme this month is "Weather".

Here is the completed linocut block.

This is the full size print (without the dots I added for the eyes).

I pulled sixteen prints to select the best five (or six) for trading with the group tonight.

And here they are...I added the dots for his eyes.

This is a detail of the (somewhat) larger print. It has been cut down to meet the ATC size requirement.

I loaded my trading cards into plastic sleeves and slipped them into the wonderful traveling case that Ruth got for me.

I will add a photo of the cards I get in trade later tonight.

Here are the wonderful ATCs I got in trade!

2012/365 - Day 10 part two - Animal People collages part 6

2012-01-10T18:07:00.007-05:00

collage content -- filling or not filling the space

Sometimes I have assembled Animal People that are a good size for the Art-o-mat block and I am able to make a somewhat detailed/busy collage...and it is hard to find a spot for the phrase.

Other times I have a somewhat larger guy that takes up most of the block, but it seems to make a completed/finished-looking (to me) collage all on its own...and I hate to add anything to it but I feel like I haven't done "enough" to it to call it done.

And other times I have an assembled Animal Person that has part of an arm missing, or there were words from the magazine across the body that need to be covered up by a collage element.

The bottom line is I make the collages to satisfy myself. I make each one as if I will keep it for my own collection. Another way to say it is: Would I be happy it, having spent $5 in the Art-o-mat machine?

I just hope that the new owners enjoy them as much as I do.

This group of Animal People are examples of all of the things I was talking about.

In each of these collages I was very pleased with the added images and phrases and I think that they all work.

Here are Animal People collages 26-30 of fifty for Art-o-mat:

2012/365 - Day 10

2012-01-10T15:36:00.005-05:00

toning down the colors

I have been working on the Studio Snake's head again today trying to understand how to tone down the colors and (hopefully) add a little depth to the to the finish.

Studio Snake head "before"

Studio Snake head "after"

I have been playing with the raw umber glaze by Golden.

I like how this has turned out, but it is so much easier to do this on the Studio Snake's head because I can pick it up and turn it and hold onto it, etc.

Actually doing it to the cat-creature is going to be scary...but I guess if I wreck it I can always paint over it and start again.

I also like the look of the straight-from-the-bottle-super-saturated colors.

I really dislike this part...this painting and tweaking stuff.

(waaaaah -- poor Took)

I love the making/plaster cloth'ing part.

2012/365 - Day 9 part two - Animal People collages part 5

2012-01-09T20:41:00.010-05:00

halfway there!

I keep notebooks and scraps of paper with phrases, lyrics, misheard snippets of conversations, dialogue from tv and movie.

This is where the wording in most of the Animal People collages come from.

I type them and print them out with the Dymo label maker and keep them handy.

Today I decided to do things in reverse. I chose phrases first, then looked for Animal People to go with them.

Then I chose the blocks with the background papers that worked with the Animal People.

Then I sorted through three or four drawers of magazine images and pulled out ones I thought might work with the other things.

I am pretty happy with the five collages for today.

Here are Animal People collages 21-25 of fifty for Art-o-mat:

2012/365 - Day 9

2012-01-09T20:28:00.007-05:00

shopping in the basement

That is what I call it when I need to go and buy something but I check in the stashes in the basement first...shopping in the basement.

I thought I had some L-brackets and I did!

AND short screws with big heads...just perfect!

How lucky is that --I built this guy -- waaaay back when -- with a wooden plaque as his base.

I played around with positioning the guy on top of the legs and drew an outline around the squares where they would attach. I drilled pilot holes with my Dremel tool, tried the holes and legs and L-brackets again, then screwed in the screws in the bottom of the plaque.

I repeated the process for the legs.

Voila -- he stands on his own!

close up of the L-bracket connections

rear view

Now I need to decide if I will plaster cloth the legs or leave them mostly as exposed wood. Maybe I will do a little of both.

2012/365 - Day 8 -- part two

2012-01-08T22:51:00.007-05:00

making artist trading cards

Ruth did come over and we worked on artist trading cards. The time flew by so fast!

The theme for the January exchange is: Weather.

I started this lino carving a couple of weeks ago. I finished it up tonight but I did not make the prints...just a test print or two.

Here is Ruth starting her Weather cards.

This is an overall shot of our main work area.

The bear in the snowstorm in the upper right is the first test print...then I added more snow.

I kinda like him better with less snow (I am not very good at making random patterns) but it does not make much sense with less snow. I still like the image.

This is Ruth finishing up her cards.

I hope I get to pick one of hers in the exchange!

2012/365 - Day 8

2012-01-08T13:56:00.008-05:00

experimenting with color combos and paint textures/differences

This is what the Studio Snake was made for -- to test out various color combinations, see the differences in the paints I have on hand, see how the paints coat...and to try out techniques...all before I commit to something for a finished plaster cloth guy.

Here is the Studio Snake's uncolored head, with two coats of gesso.

I thought I had periwinkle paint, but it is actually light ultramarine blue.

Anyway...this is what is on hand today. I was mainly going for color combo mock ups.

And this green isn't actually chartreuse, either -- it is brilliant yellow green. Close, right? I need to choose colors and not look at the names.

I like these two colors together. This is just straight from the tubes and one coat.

Yikes!

I painted the orange straight from the tube and liked it a lot.

The green is an old bottle of craft paint and man -- it was pretty icky. It was glumped inside the bottle and when I stirred the paint it became even more strange...so I put some in a little dish, added a small amount of warm water and stirred
until I couldn't stand stirring any more.

The paint is just so wrecked...it seemed okay, if a bit watery, but man...it went on clumpy and watery in spots and incredibly thick in others. Just really strange. I like the color, though.

Here's the thing. Obviously I prefer the nicer higher quality paints over the craft paints...not that there is anything wrong with the craft paints when they are fresh. I have a drawer FULL of (mostly) older craft paints. I only have a handful of tubes of good paint so far.

When my sister asks me for a birthday shopping list this week I will most likely ask for tubes of paint, plaster cloth and other art supplies...maybe we can go together -- that'd be fun...I can most likely start buying more good paint in colors I like.

And don't you painters even start with me -- don't tell me to mix my own colors. I promise you I am NOT ready for that -- at least not yet. Maybe sometime down the road when I get more confident with painting. For now, I need to be able to count on the colors coming straight from the tube, and being able to go back and grab more of the exact color I used.

Ruth might be coming over later on to work on ATCs for the monthly exchange we go to. I wanted to post early today so that I don't have to worry about meeting my midnight blog deadline.

Man -- this Studio Snake is just so cute. I wish the camera could capture the way it looks. I think maybe if I get someone to take photos instead of me trying to angle the camera to what I am seeing (vs what the camera sees) it will turn out so you can see how sweet this guy is...it has such a puppy face.

UPDATE: I tried using the bigger camera...this sort of shows how cute he is.

2012/365 - Day 7

2012-01-07T20:52:00.006-05:00

not much to see today

Today was a day of running around and errands, car trips back and forth...stuff like that...coupled with heavy duty allergic reactions to something in the air which required a dose of Benadryl. Gah.

I put two coats of gesso on the cat-creature's repaired areas. They seem to have worked just fine. Very satisfying and good to know I can fix something that far along in the process.

One of my errands was a trip to Michael's to pick up some Speedball ink for block printing.

While I was there I passed a 50% off display of various storage items. I was thinking that this wheeled thingy could be put to use with the plaster cloth guys somehow. At $19.99 I wasn't interested...at ten bucks, sure...I'll give it a go.

While I was putting it together I had the idea that maybe the sides could go face down and cover up the wheels...

...nope...well, it could but it doesn't roll so well because the wheels are limited to how far they can turn -- they can only go three quarters of a circle before they hit the walls of the trim.

Oh well.

Still...for ten bucks this isn't bad. It doesn't roll smoothly like this...yet.

Maybe I have the wheels on in the wrong configuration -- two of them lock.

Maybe with some weight in the cart part it will roll better.

I think it was well worth ten bucks for pre-cut pieces of finished MDF (or something like it) with a bunch of pre-drilled holes that I can use later.

I also picked up some tacky stuff for finally finishing off the wowl, and a few packets of little wooden blocks and spools for making those carved "landscape" elements into dimensional pictures. More on that in a few days.

Between the Benadryl and using the screwdriver and paintbrush I am going to take the night off and not try to make any Animal People collages. I am going to listen to my hand(s) and stop while I am ahead...for once.

Northville Art House -- Currently IN the Art-o-mat machine

2012-01-07T01:34:00.016-05:00

What is currently IN the Art-o-mat machine at the Northville Art House

The Northville Art House

215 W. Cady Street
Northville, MI 48167

(248) 344-0497

Regular Hours:
Wednesday - Saturday 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

First Friday of the month 1:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Carey's Niche -- Origami
J.G. Mead -- Wooden Cows (last available in this Pink-Cow-Licious series)
Jessika Gerondale -- Repurposed Tiles (last available)
Brenda Marks -- Mixed Media Animal Houses (last available)
Lorrie Dunks -- 3-D Animal Sculptures
Francine Hibiscus Rossi -- Raku Tiles
Jessica Guptill -- Watercolor, Pen & Ink Paintings (3 series, some last available)
Carrie Price -- Acrylic Character Paintings
Maija Peeples-Bright -- Acrylic Animal Paintings

click on a photo for more information

2012/365 - Day 6 part two - Animal People collages part 4

2012-01-06T21:50:00.009-05:00

background paper

For this series of 50 Animal People collages for Art-o-mat I am using snippets of sections of butcher paper that I put underneath watercolor color paper sheets when I was making larger Animal People collages for a group show last winter.

I sprayed the watercolor paper with alcohol inks and water and the butcher paper protected my dining room table from the overspray. I really liked the alcohol inks on the butcher paper and I couldn't toss it out when I was done.

I think it works well for the smaller format versions of Animal People. The butcher paper is slightly textured and adds a little "something" to the collages.

The colors are sort of limited, but I like that.

A really cool thing about all of this is that I still have quite a bit more of the alcohol ink butcher paper left, too.

I am sure it will find its way into other projects.

This was my favorite larger format Animal People collage that I made for that group show. This is 8" x 10" (rather than the 2" x 3.25" for Art-o-mat).

This is called "B-I-N-G-O" and it is with its new owner (another artist) in New York.

I made ten collages for that show -- five 8x10 and five 5x7 -- and I only have two of them left.

Here are collages 16-20 (of 50) for this new series for Art-o-mat:

2012/365 - Day 6

2012-01-06T19:24:00.007-05:00

Northville Art House stuff

Today I needed to restock Greeny -- my Art-o-mat machine -- at Northville Art House.

Here is what I loaded into the machine today:

Origami
Wooden Cows
Repurposed Tiles
Mixed Media Animal Houses
3-D Animal Sculptures
Raku Tiles
and 3 very different styles of Painting

Greeny looks so good in this spot in the Art House's Store.

And look -- there is Miranda...she just adores the Art-o-mat!

Wow -- right next to the Art-o-mat is a display case FULL of some of Topher Crowder's work! How cool is that?

And just by chance...Miranda's dad Jeff is the organizer of Topher Crowder's solo show which opened tonight at the Northville Art House.

And oh my -- there's Topher Crowder!

I am going to go back again tomorrow when it is a bit less crowded so I can really take in all of the wondrous artwork.

Etch, Sketch & Stilettos
The Work of Topher Crowder

January 6 - 28

Northville Art House
215 W. Cady Street
Northville, MI 48167

(248) 344-0497

click the show postcard for more information

2012/365 - Day 5 part two - Animal People collages part 3

2012-01-05T18:38:00.006-05:00

fifteen down, thirty-five to go

Today I did things a little differently than I usually do when I am making Animal People collages for Art-o-mat. I chose 5 Animal People that I had already assembled and gave them each an envelope. Then I chose the blocks for them. Then I went through my image drawers trying to come up with 5 collages at once. I normally work on one at a time.

Ha -- I knew I had an image of an ice cream cone!

And there are the blocks and images in envelopes ready to go!

Here are Animal People collages 11-15 of fifty for Art-o-mat:

2012/365 - Day 5

2012-01-05T18:21:00.005-05:00

working on the cat-creature

I printed the photos out last night but I never actually got around to putting them in my sketchbook or coloring any...that would bring me just that much closer to having to paint.

Today I buckled down and Xyron'd the printed photos and stuck some in my sketchbook.

Honestly, I only did a few so far so that I wouldn't get too far ahead of myself just in case I hit on a color combination that I like...I didn't want to have like 5 prints of one photo when I only -- ha -- might need 2 or something.

I am really bad at/not confident with choosing colors. I cannot paint very well and I really hate it.

Colored pencils? Soooooooo many choices it makes me a little nuts. I had a couple of ideas to begin with so that is where I started from.

My first thought (since I have the color in good acrylic paint) is a sort of periwinkle for the cat-creature's face and hands and chartreuse for its eyes.

Second thought is a warm gray for the face and hands and yellow eyes.

Or maybe orange with olive eyes. But then what? Cripes, I hate this part. I really do.

I also had some repair work to do on the base of the cat-creature where the tail is not attached close to the body.

I forgot to take a "before" shot for this repair.

I am fairly confident the plaster cloth will hold and dry and then stay put...but I have never tried to repair something that was this far along already (two coats of gesso).

Another spot. The higher area on the right is actually just where the plaster cloth wasn't smoothed at the edge. There is no hole there but I filled it in anyway.

This lower area did have a hole where I missed filling in with plaster cloth.

The repair...fingers crossed it works.

The last repair area...a long "seam" of where the plaster cloth wasn't smoothed along the edge of a strip. I was going to leave it, hoping the gesso would fill it in...it almost did...but not enough for my liking.

Okay. Really. Tonight I am going to color in my sketchbook more.

2012/365 - Day 4 - Animal People collages part 2

2012-01-04T22:13:00.007-05:00

working with magazines and catalogs

I wanted to say a few things about the images I use in the Animal People collages.

The majority of the images come from not-exactly-new magazines and catalogs. Some I get in the mail and they are new, some come from various office waiting rooms and have been handled quite a bit.

Some are several years old, some have thin paper pages, and some have heavier paper pages with very crisp, clean images.

Sometimes the images get folded in their storage drawers by accident...corners curl up. Sometimes a piece gets torn slightly but I like the image enough to still use it.

Sometimes there are printing imperfections and sometimes you can see each little dot of color, sometimes the images are crystal clear.

That used to bother me a lot but I have learned to relax more about it. I have always wanted my Art-o-mat customers to be happy with their purchase. I have made a lot of these collages over the span of several years but I have only had a handful of so-so comments regarding the quality of the piece. Most of the time the comments I hear are that the Animal People remind the new owner of a pet or a friend or relative or co-worker.

I guess I just want to say that I put a lot of time and work into each hand cut paper collage. I try very hard not to let any glaring mistakes slip by me. It takes a long time to match heads to bodies and get the proportions right and get some expression or personality to come through the unrelated images. I hope that people will be pleased with their new $5 piece of art.

Here are Animal People numbers six through ten (of fifty):

2012/365 - Day 4 (plus update)

2012-01-04T16:13:00.008-05:00

gesso day

Today I am applying 2 coats of gesso to the cat-creature and the head and 4 body sections of the studio snake. The cat-creature is done is four sections...top and bottom, front and back.

I did the first coat(s) in the plain white gesso. I did the top half of the cat-creature and the top half of the studio snake's head and 3/4 all the way around on the body sections of the studio snake.

It is very bright white and hard on the eyes. It is also hard to see where I've already painted.

I have seen tinted gesso online but it is sort of expensive.

I decided today to try tinting my own small batches. I added a little bit of acrylic paint to the plain white gesso -- looks good!

Wow -- that is SO much better! And now I can see spots I've missed, too.

Now I need to hoist the cat-creature back up onto the table to gesso two coats on the base and also finish off the studio snake parts.

I shot the cat-creature from several different positions so that I could print out pages to practice color combinations, etc. in my sketchbook. That is what I will be doing for the rest of the evening because I still have no idea what I want to do with this guy -- except I do have one idea for the tail.

Hopefully I will take a break and work on the next five Animal People collages (for Art-o-mat) tonight.

UPDATE: Oh, wouldn't you just know it? I got around to the last part of the base of the cat-creature and there are two areas that need plaster cloth repair. Darn it.

This is a spot of the tail that attaches to the body on the front/side.

This is a whole edge of a section of plaster cloth that wasn't smoothed down all the way.

Oh well...at least I can repair them. I am glad I saw them now -- before I started the finish painting.

2012/365 - Day 3

2012-01-03T21:50:00.004-05:00

back to the monster and two ghosts painting

I have been thinking about this ever-changing painting lately. I haven't liked that ghost on the left for some time now. I wasn't sure how to alter him.

I like that you can see through him, but I don't like those spots and the colors are bothering me.

That metallic turquoise is very very shiny.

I remembered I have some glaze. I thought I'd give that a try.

I hope it dries eventually...LOL.

I like him more than I did, but I am still not happy with him.

This is a start, though.

Oh -- and no Animal People collages today.

2012/365 - Day 2 - Animal People collages part 1

2012-01-02T17:21:00.011-05:00

Animal People collages

Animal People have been in my dreams and fantasies since I was a kid. I think the earliest ones must have come from fairy tales and library books. When I was in my mid-teens my mom taught decoupage and other paper arts and as a sort of "punishment" (I was a bit unruly sometimes) I had to cut small images that her students either couldn't cut or didn't want to cut out themselves. But ha ha -- I actually loved cutting the paper images! I had my own pair of small decoupage scissors (the ones I still use) and after a while some of her students started paying me to do all of their cutting.

I've always had a lot of magazines and catalogs coming to my house. I used to save everything. Over the last few years I have been able to tear out images and sort them into categories and then recycle the rest of the magazine, but I still have bins and dressers full of untouched materials I need to sort through.

It has been quite a while since I made a set of plain Animal People collages for Art-o-mat and I really miss doing it. Animal People collages are my art "first love".

I covered those blocks with the leftover alcohol inks-dyed papers in late November...it is about time I get down to it!

I was thinking today that if I could make five collages a day it would only take me ten days to finish the series and I could ship them off to Artists in Cellophane. Cool -- that is what I am aiming for.

Here are the first five of fifty --

whoa -- this is GREAT!

2012-01-02T12:57:00.002-05:00

Take a look at THIS -- and watch the video -- really cool!

a new Webcomic!

2012-01-02T11:43:00.005-05:00

My buddy William Hessian is a busy, busy art guy.

In addition to his Miniature Art Hunts and Bearded Bunny Blog and Canvas Kill Live performances, teaching engagements, an Art-o-mat collaboration series with me and about a billion other things he is involved with, William has started a project for 2012 -- it is a one-a-day Webcomic called "King of the Pill".

You can read all about his inspiration to take on this endeavor here.

William is currently inviting YOU to color a part of a drawing for an upcoming panel in the Webcomic ...get to it!

photo of William coloring at the info table for the Miniature Art Hunt in Northville, MI this past June

2012/365 - Day 2

2012-01-02T00:11:00.005-05:00

I know it isn't going to happen like this every time, but...

Wow. I love it when synchronicity happens.

This evening I tweaked my blog intention list thing and added that I wanted to use a sketchbook more often. I doctored one of the photos I took of the blue wolf-guy and printed it out and cut it out and glued it into the sketchbook that just happened to be on my desk.

When this guy turned out this way I was thinking he was some sort of guru or monk or something wrapped up in a robe. But when I was cutting out the picture I thought, "no, he looks like a guy that just stepped out of the shower and has a towel wrapped around him" and it made me laugh.

So I tried drawing some legs underneath him and added fur to his legs and chest.

Then it occurred to me -- remember that cabinet that fell down a few steps and crashed on my head and hit the floor when I was moving it down from the loft in the cat room?
Well, I just moved it again a few days ago and one of the legs came off again so I took both of the legs off and I like the cabinet a whole lot more. Anyway...

These are those legs from the cabinet. As soon as I had drawn the legs on the blue wolf-guy I knew these were his legs.

However, I did not know at the time that the saw I have been using to cut the legs off of the tomato cages (and also anything else that needs to be cut like the swimming pool floaty bopper things) is not the saw you need to cut wood.

Luckily I found my other saw and was able to cut the wood off quickly and without incident.

A photograph of what synchronicity + success looks like (for me).

And here is the blue wolf-guy with his new legs -- he stands on his own! AND the legs have feet already -- just like in the sketch!

I have plenty of work left to do on this guy, including figuring out how to attach the legs to the body...but I love it when a string of things just falls into place! Wow.

2012/365 - Day 1

2012-01-01T17:27:00.011-05:00

starting again!

Since it is like I am re-setting the blog and starting over, I thought I'd grab a couple of unfinished projects off of the "save it for later" shelf and start them over, too. There are a lot of photos in this blog entry because I worked on both of these guys in the same session and I didn't want to make separate posts for them.

As with pretty much every plaster cloth guy I make, I have no idea what these two guys will turn into.

This guy sort of started off as a blue wolf-ish creature.

And this guy was one I was never sure of to begin with. Depending on how you look at him he looks like a sheep, horse, bear, hippo...I don't know.

One of the easiest ways for me to get going is to just start wrapping stuff on a guy. I am using small-bubble bubble wrap that was left over from some packaging.

As this guy was taking some shape I thought he might be wearing a suit coat of some sort and that I would add arms later.

back view

This guy was looking sheep-y and the bubble wrap was looking fleecy.

I thought I'd try and give him a round belly.

Ahhhh...fresh start at the plaster cloth area! I dumped out all of the plaster dust, changed the plastic bags on the table and cut new plaster cloth triangles. Ready to go!

I didn't take any photos while I was plaster cloth'ing the wolf-guy because I was trying to control the shape he was taking on. The bubble wrap was giving me a few problems and the wolf-guy was becoming less and less like I had envisioned. I kept trying to keep pressure on the front and back and let most of the bulges go to the sides but I couldn't maintain the pressure. Then I used a strip of paper rag and masking tape and pulled everything in as tightly as I could...it worked a teensy bit but I knew it wasn't going to hold. I gave up and just kept covering the body the way it wanted to go.

Having learned a small lesson from the previous guy, I took the bubble wrap off of this guy and decided to try and build up a shape with tightly folded paper rags.

I wanted to go for a creature in a suit since I couldn't do it with the wolf-guy.

I figured I'd need to get the shoulders and chest and back the way I would need them and then add arms later.

taping on the folded paper rags

after the first layer of plaster cloth

I was trying to think of what I could make arms out of.

Now that I have that little hack saw (?) I feel like everything is fair game...LOL.

I realized the glue stick tube would be too wide after I already cut it...the plaster cloth does add quite a bit of bulk.

Ha -- I have a bajillion pencils! And I could cut one in half and then sharpen both of the pieces and puncture the creature so they'd be anchored.

I tried positioning the pencils/arms at different points but I ended up liking them here the best.

Oh...here is how the wolf-creature ended up.

Not at ALL what I was thinking of.

back view

I wrapped the pencils/arms with plaster cloth...he is looking a little Godzilla-y to me right now.

It is funny how his species changes as you turn him a little.

Sheep? About-to-become-Godzilla?

Horse? Hippo? Big ol' dog?

Here he kind of looks like a bear to me...

...see?

...kinda bear-y

OR a little like the Universal Remonster from Aqua Teen Hunger Force...I love that little guy!

(There is probably a commercial before the ATHF clip...and the clips just keep playing automatically...just sayin'.)

I cracked myself up when I was leaving the studio -- I had to take one more photo.

Look at the size difference between the "Hands Up" cat-creature I've been working on and these two little guys!

365 Day 365 -- part 4

2011-12-31T21:39:00.008-05:00

tail it is!

Wow. NOW I'm done for the night...and the year!

I built the tail out of swimming pool floaty bopper things and tape and aluminum foil and more tape and little wedges of bopper material in the spaces where the tail makes curves.

The very end of the tail is one of Twink's play balls that he doesn't really care for...a cat version of a tennis ball. I cut it at about a third/two thirds.

I couldn't take photos while I was making the tail and attaching it because I had to work super fast. Everything was drying out quickly tonight...and I was not using gloves. Actually I didn't use gloves at all today because the new size medium gloves have fingertips that are still just a little too long for detail work, or for when I have to move quickly.

Okay. So I assembled the parts of the tail, bent it where it was supposed to go around the body of the cat-creature and covered it with 2 1/2 layers of plaster cloth then I (one-handedly) held the tail and applied plaster cloth triangles around the edge to get it to hold on. Man. I must say, that wasn't easy...not bitching, not bragging...just sayin'.

I thought it was going to still be wobbly enough to conform to the shape of the cat-creature's body -- that would have made my job quite a bit better...but nooooooo. As you can see in the photos below, the tail is mostly not attached to the body. I crammed wads of plaster cloth triangles into the thinnest gaps between the tail and the body and then carefully added triangles over and under the tail to attach it to the body. I think it will be okay. It will be quite a challenge moving it again. LOL -- that is why the photos were taken with the cat-creature up on the drying rack.

Not exactly what I had in mind but I am very pleased with the results...especially working alone. I intended to have the tail be rounded on top but laying flat against the body of the cat-creature for the entire length of the tail.

facing left

back view

far back and side angle

kind of close up view

I have a few ideas for the tail. I have a few for the decorating of the lower body. I am still not positive of the color of the cat-creature. This is stuff I should work on in my sketchbook I guess.

Wow -- this week really flew by blog-wise. I can't believe the year is over.

I will start fresh again tomorrow -- HAPPY NEW YEAR!

365 Day 365 -- part 3

2011-12-31T16:49:00.004-05:00

I don't think this will EVER be done

I realize that I am the only person I need to please with this piece.
I realize this is a cat-creature, not an realistic cat sculpture.
I totally realize/admit/understand that I am not a sculptor...I am just beginning.
I want to remind myself that this is the most I have ever sculpted before on any piece.
This piece will never ever be totally smooth...it is plaster cloth.
Yes, Took, you will finish this piece. You will finish it in time for the Member's Show.
Yes, he most likely does need a tail.

Okay...now with all of that out of the way...

the back of the head before (and blurry)

the back of the head now

torso getting strengthened and smoothed

Yow...he looks SO different from when we started out.

I need a break...

365 Day 365 -- part 2

2011-12-31T15:20:00.004-05:00

tail or no tail?

Geez -- why do I always forget about the question of "tail or no tail" until I think I am done with something? I could've been planning for this...sheesh! Now I just don't know.

This is about how it would be placed. I would angle it better at the attachment point, but I can fill in more curves in it when I need to.

facing right

facing front

facing left

facing back

365 Day 365

2011-12-31T12:51:00.005-05:00

this just might be it!

Back to the plaster surgery on the cat-creature's face late this morning/early afternoon. I think it just might be the final face.

preparing the area -- trying to get the feel for the additions

first few pieces of plaster cloth to hold the rags on

ta-daaaaaaa

ta-daaaaaa

I think I like this face.

I still need to touch up the ears and the back of the cat-creature's head (they are a mess on the back). That will probably happen later today and into this evening.

I need to put a smoothing layer on the middle of the cat's body down to where the first tier of the tomato cage starts -- for structure and strength.
That part will probably wait until tomorrow.

Squeeeee -- we're getting there!

365 Day 364 -- part two

2011-12-30T19:06:00.005-05:00

it's coming along

I did a little more plaster surgery on the cat-creature's face. It is beginning to look more like a cat.

before

I can see now why my sister thought it also looked like a bear.

quick plaster surgery reference shot

after

It is improving...not done yet, but looking better to me.

The plaster cloth eyes can stay.

just sayin'

2011-12-30T16:45:00.002-05:00

I finally updated the blog entry for Day 347 -- but with photos only. There are no captions for what is taking place in the pictures...this is what I get for not doing this sooner. Oh well, the photos are there!

LINK to Day 347.

365 Day 364

2011-12-30T15:12:00.009-05:00

trying to make plaster cloth eyes

I am not sure how well this will turn out, but I am going to give it a shot. I might be able to change it if I need to...pull this construction off totally if I can't work with it. We'll see.

I started out with aluminum foil over felt balls.

Then I put the paper rags over that and taped them.

I did a couple of layers of plaster cloth on them and put them up to the cat-creature's face but they were way too round...they bulged over its cheeks. I had to cut them in half.

Back at the plaster cloth area. I removed the felt balls and just had the aluminum foil and the sill-damp plaster cloth left.

I put on two layers of plaster cloth triangles that were larger than the eye and smoothed them out.

How the underside looked...I was going to leave myself some flat plaster cloth edges to make it easier to put the eyes on the face.

...like this

But darn it...they were still too round when I put them up to the face. I had to cut them down with scissors.

Then I really needed to get working quickly before they hardened too much.

Attaching the first eyeball to the face...stopping long enough to take a photo for myself. I smoothed out the edges after I put the camera down.

And I placed the other eye in position and attached it.

Not too bad.

They are both pretty even and smooth and the lid-ish parts are decent.

BUT, right now the cat-creature is looking a bit Gollum-y to me. I think I can fix it somewhat -- maybe not. I also think I should still be able to peel the eyes off if I decide I can't stand how they look.

I have some pre-painted taxidermy eyes I can use if I am not happy with the final look of these. I kind of want these to work out but I also want to really like the cat-creature's face and at this very moment I am kinda creeped out by it...this is the most "sculpting" I have attempted so far and I am still feeling my way with it.

LOL -- I can hear Gollum squealing.

365 Day 363 (cheaty pants re-do)

2011-12-29T21:45:00.003-05:00

working on the cat-creature's face

Note: This is actually a cheaty pants re-do for yesterday's (Thursday) blog entry. I don't know exactly what was wrong, but there were a million things that were giving me low grade agitation and irritation and aggravation. They all piled up and I was really annoyed and angry from pretty much the time I woke up until I went to bed. That day is over and today is much better.

My guides/the Universe/muses/helpers/whoever they are dropped by late this morning and got me working on the cat-creature's face. Here is what we've got so far:

before

after

before

after

before

after

I am sure it is not done yet...I/we will work on it again later today (Friday) and it will be posted as part of Day 364.

365 Day 362

2011-12-28T22:05:00.005-05:00

starting a collage

I like this linocut print and the cigar box lid but the colors and images are too vivid.

I sprayed the print with matte spray and let it dry -- I was hoping that would seal in most of the block print ink.

Then I covered it with matte medium and laid down a piece of very thin white mulberry paper.

The ink bled a little bit on the edge on the right side, but I think it will be fine.

This needs to dry and I need to think about it some more.

365 Day 361

2011-12-27T02:09:00.012-05:00

I guess I had one more session/project in me tonight!

I know it turned into Tuesday already, but as far as I'm concerned it is still Monday night because I haven't gone to bed yet. I thought I was done for the night when I made the arms for this experimental dog, but I guess I needed to work on the head and face.

I don't think there is any need to caption the photos...just show them. It was pretty much straight forward wadding up Scott's Xtreme Rags, little pieces of swimming pool floaty bopper material and eight layers of paper bags (for the upper lips). I worked on this from just before midnight until now -- 2:16. It still needs some tweaking and fine tuning but I am quite pleased (and surprised) with the results. I like him.

The eyes are flints/blanks from a taxidermy catalog and are clear glass with the black pupils pre-painted. I believe they are actually fish eyes but these are the largest unpainted eyes I have found so far.

And yes -- I know I need to get working on the smoothing layers and tweaking of the cat-creature so that I meet the delivery deadline, but as I work on the experimental dog I learn more things that I am using on the cat-creature. I just need to keep up with both of them.

365 Day 360 -- part 5

2011-12-26T21:24:00.007-05:00

experimental arms for an experimental plaster cloth dog

Okay -- one last quick project for tonight!

I made arms for the dog. I wanted them to be simple but I didn't want to spend as much time on them as I did on Chime Cat's arms. Although Chime Cat has simple-looking arms, they took me a long time to make and they frustrated me a bit because they are not even...but I guess that is part of Chime Cat's charm.

For these arms/paws I decided to skip the claws because there will be plenty of stuff to look at with the tie and clothes. And like I said, I wanted arms similar to Chime Cat.

I used one of those swimming pool floaty bopper things and cut it in half. I used two super long paint stirs for underneath to keep their straight shape. Three layers on top and bottom, then three layers of triangles to hold the plastic caps (thanks, Suzanne!) on and that was that.

I used vinyl exam gloves for this project to see how it would go with gloves on. I tried it once before with a different brand (size large) and the fingertips were too long. These are also a size large but are a little smaller. I still need a medium to fit better. But man -- what a joy! They even kept the plaster cloth wetter and slid the plaster around easier...I guess my hands absorb it. AND I don't have to soak and scrub the plaster residue off of my hands...yay!

I gave the arms rounded paws and cuffs for the sleeves. Even though they weigh a LOT, I think they will be fine. I like how they look.

I am going to have to do the smoothing and tweaking layers to the dog before I put on the arms and the collar and tie. But I am done for tonight!

365 Day 360 -- part 4

2011-12-26T18:38:00.005-05:00

closing up the base on the experimental plaster cloth dog

Heh -- this was the view from my desk this afternoon. It was looking a little wacky in here.

This afternoon I made the decision to close up that last part of the base on the experimental plaster cloth dog. Maybe I will leave a section open on another creature...I didn't think this one was structurally suited to it.

At this stage you could still easily see the "hanging out of his pants shirttail" part. Once I started covering the paper bags with the plaster cloth it became harder to see distinguish it.

Some of the plaster cloth when on top, some went underneath.

I am going to try and paint it so that you can tell his shirttail is becoming partly untucked. (yeah, right)

And now it looks like things have settled down a bit again.

365 Day 360 -- part 3

2011-12-26T16:38:00.004-05:00

maybe these???

Maybe this is the guy that these antlers/horns were made for -- hmmm...

I tried the pieces in a billion combinations, and this is how they look the best.

They are temporarily taped on for the photos...I can hear the tape releasing from over here...LOL.

I think with these horns/antlers that this guy could maybe be some sort of deep woodland elemental...like a guy from M:tG.

365 Day 360 -- part 2

2011-12-26T13:49:00.005-05:00

looking at some eyes

It is funny to me how much the look of the face changes with different sized eyes, and with the other elements added. (I think the reason the small eye looks somewhat better is because of that pesky black marker mark on the plaster cloth, giving it an outline.)

small eye, unpainted

small eye, painted

medium eye, painted

large eye, painted

small eye, large pointy horn, small pointy ear

small eye, large pointy horn, short rounded ear

small eye, stubby horn, short rounded ear

small eye, stubby horn, long pointy ear

medium eye, stubby horn, long pointy ear

large eye, stubby horn, long pointy ear

To me in these photos, the small eye makes the guy look like a slightly more "real" creature. The medium eye makes him look a little surprised and the large eye makes him look like a stuffed animal.

365 Day 360

2011-12-26T11:48:00.008-05:00

how do I look?

This morning I have been playing around with possible looks for the repurposed horse statue creature. I don't know what I am going to do with him yet. This is just a small sample of the photos I took and the different combinations of horns and ears.

plain

Shadows on the plaster cloth suggested placement of eyes, nose and mouth...but it probably won't stay like that.

wide-spaced long pointy horns + long rounded ears

short rounded ears + long curved horns

long rounded ears + stubby horns

ridiculously large cat-ish ears placed to the side of the head + stubby horns

pointy ears + long forehead horns

short rounded ears + backwards tilting long pointy horns

short rounded ears

stubby horns become short pointy ears

I am starting to like the idea of glow-in-the-dark Fimo horns of some sort.

365 Day 359

2011-12-25T14:54:00.008-05:00

possible image for January's ATCs

Yesterday while I was sorting things (again) in the studio, I found two tablets of tracing paper. They had been in the very bottom of an old Rubbermaid bin that was full of paper stuff that I have been saving for years and years. I didn't think much of it at the time...just "cool -- more tracing paper." Last night when I needed a piece of tracing paper I grabbed one of the tablets and this full size page fell out. I don't remember exactly where the image came from but it looks to me like I traced a "real" bear for a simple outline to carve, leaving one plain/smooth and doing one fuzzy. I thought "ooh -- neat -- I will do something with these guys sometime."

This morning they were really bugging me.

I have been a bit stumped for an idea for the ATC exchange for January. The theme is Weather.

When I was looking at these two guys together I thought it looked like the smooth bear was dry and the fuzzy one was wet. That gave me an idea.

This afternoon I have been playing with the image in my photo program (I wish I really knew how to WORK that program) -- trying to resize it (the guys on the tracing paper are about the size of my hand), photocopying the image and changing the size that way, scanning the newly re-sized image, and then trying effects on it to see if I could make a negative (like I used to be able to do with my old photo program on my old PC). (It's not that the stuff on my Mac can't do what I want it to do -- it's that I don't know how to make it do it. Sometimes I accidentally stumble on a workaround but I never remember how I did it...LOL...and I just do not care enough about computers to take classes.)

So I finally got an image I could use and I transferred it (very messily) with a soft pastel to the carving block.

This is the cleaned up block after I went over the transferred lines with an oil colored pencil (that just happened to be in my desk drawer) -- I couldn't find a wet enough thin line Sharpie...LOL.

This is a group shot of the various stages of what I did today.

On the bottom left is the carved (so far) linocut block...I'm taking it slowly.

In the middle is the test print.

On the bottom right is a photo program doctored version of a scan of the test print...to see what I might be able to do with it.

It has been an enjoyable process (when I let go of the frustration with my lack of computer skills). I like the idea of the bear up to his shoulders in a nighttime snowstorm.

But then again...I might come up with something else now that I am partly on a roll with the Weather theme.