365/2013 - Day 194

ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Ta-daaaaaaaa -- 100 Tookies finger puppets for Art-o-mat are completely finished!

Next up:  the packaging...info inserts, cleaning up the small MDF blocks that I am using for weight in the boxes, taking the new photos for labels and placards, making labels, making placards, taking the photo for AIC to hopefully get included in the art section on the Art-o-mat website for other hosts to see so they can order them.  Oh...then I need to pack them into the boxes and wrap the boxes with cellophane...and ship them to Artists in Cellophane (Art-o-mat HQ).

So I am very very pleased to be done with the sewing of the finger puppets part...but I am still a ways off from being ready to ship the finished artpacks.

getting started tonight -- Tookies 91-100 (of 100) are still in the sewing box, waiting...waiting...

tonight's first order of business -- the side seams

then the colorful soft edges

ONE HUNDRED Tookies pile on!

365/2013 - Day 188

me vs the weather

And the winner is...the weather.  It is really kicking me around big time.  I haven't accomplished much today so far but I wanted to post to the blog now just in case the Benadryl takes over in a little while.  I would like to get at least all of the horns/ears done tonight.

365/2013 - Day 185

the blue Tookies are done!

Ya-hooooooo -- finger puppets 61-80 (of 100) are complete!  

first they get their side seams

then they get their colorful, soft edges

Next up...ten black and white striped finger puppets, then ten blue/blue striped finger puppets.  Then it is on to the boxes and inserts and packaging...still a ways to go but it still sounds good to say 80 down/20 to go!

365/2013 - Day 184

it doesn't feel like a lot of sewing until I stop for the night

Today the nineteen blue finger puppets that worked on yesterday all got button eyes, then mouths, then eyelashes.  I sort of felt like I could probably do the side seams on them tonight, but when I took a break to feed the cats just now I realized how achy I am from sewing all day.  Combined with the small spill I took last night, I think it all accounts for my really achy shoulders and neck.  Overall I feel fine -- but I think it is good to stop for the night.

the button eyes

the mouths

and the hard to see eyelashes

365/2013 - Day 183

whew -- made it before my deadline!

Today I managed to do the ears/horns on nineteen blue finger puppets for my Art-o-mat series "Tookies".  I already had one of the blue Tookies completed.  I don't know what came over me, but I pushed myself to do all of them today/tonight.

It might not seem like it by looking a this photo, but that is a LOT of hand sewing for one day!

365/2013 - Day 182

Tookies 51-60

I finished up the camouflage variegated print finger puppets.  They are 51-60 (of 100) in this current batch of Tookies for Art-o-mat.

Also today -- I took one more step in the process of the thing I am super excited about.  I am still not going to give any details, but I should hear more next week...after the holiday.

365/2013 - Day 175

all black finger puppets or an assortment?

I think I will go with an assortment for the second 50 Tookies.

These are the ones I liked best after experimenting with the assorted gloves that I have left.  I have enough to do 10 blue/blue stripe guys, 10 black/white stripe guys, 20 solid blue guys, and 10 camouflage/variegated guys.

365/2013 - Day 174

decisions...decisions...

Today I finished finger puppets 41-50 (of 100) for my Art-o-mat series called "Tookies".  Now I need to decide if I want to make another 50 black ones (like the first 50) or make an assorted 50.  Hmmm... I guess I will experiment tonight and see how the more colorful gloves look in this style.  Also -- this afternoon I discovered I need to order 100 pre-glued boxes/cellophane from Artists in Cellophane...I don't have enough for this series.  Oh well, I am not totally ready to do the boxes and inserts yet anyway.

Holding these ten finger puppets upside down to see the soft edges -- it's like a bouquet of them.

Tookies 41-50 (of 100).

The first 50 are done!

NOW...to do some experimenting tonight and see how the more colorful gloves look in this style.  At least I have enough black fingers to complete the set of 100.

365/2013 - Day 169

my day (and evening) in reverse order

Tonight I cleared a path to the table in the wet studio -- enough space to work on the rabbitish guy.  I don't know how committed I am to this guy yet but here are the important parts of this activity (for me):

• I cleared up some of the clutter, sorted things into a box, and took it to the basement
• I got my hands back into plaster cloth
• I tried working in a method I haven't tried until tonight
• I feel like I did something

It may turn out that this guy changes into something far different than what he is tonight -- it may turn out that I scrap these painted glass gem eyes altogether -- it may turn out that I keep working on him and actually start to "get" him and really like him eventually -- who knows -- tonight I am just feeling pretty good that I got this far.

I cleared enough space to work!

This is the second pair of glass gems I painted with that show in mind and then I decided not to submit anything to it after all.  These eyes are not necessarily something I would usually paint...I prefer to use taxidermy eyes now.  I needed eyes in a color palette that would have fit that show.  I sort of like these eyes,  but I'm not sure about them.

The glass gem eyes are flat on the bottom...the old plaster cloth eyes are round.  The glass gems are not the same exact size, they don't match very well.  The centers are not centered very well -- I was thinking I could shape the look of them once the plaster cloth was on.  In the meantime, I had a lot of space to fill in with plaster cloth and I still have a lot of head reshaping to do.

The first side went pretty quickly.  I tried something that I haven't done with the plaster cloth before.  I got the triangles really wet, folded/bunched/wadded them up and did not take any of the water out of the wads.  I crammed the very wet wadded plaster cloth into the gaps, like you might do with clay, and then smoothed it.

Here is an example of what I am talking about -- before I smoothed it.

I was just trying to fill in and shape as I went along -- instead of finding a shape to drape plaster cloth over.

Not too bad for a first try with odd eyes.

But I don't really like it after looking at it for a little while.  They have a little bit of personality (I guess), but I am not fond of the color and various things it could suggest.  I'm not sure what he is yet, but I know he isn't an insomniac, a substance abuser, a serial killer/bad monster guy, rabid, etc...that's what they suggest to me.

Luckily my utility knife was handy and I popped the second eye out pretty easily.  The other side was set a little harder already and I had to dig a bit more and use a screwdriver to get underneath the glass gem.

This is the first set I tried to paint to fit the palette.  I actually like how they look better than the red ones.  However, they also do not match -- you can see how much different these are.  The red ones are closer to the same shape -- these aren't even close.

I set them into the vacant spaces and kept turning them until they looked fairly even and like they were looking in the same direction -- as much as was possible...LOL.

This is a little better but I needed to stop for tonight.  I didn't want the head to get any bigger right now.  These eyes are about as straight as they are going to get.  Eyelids will help a lot.

Or who knows -- I have a whole bunch of wonderful taxidermy eyes now.  If I start to get attached to this guy I might give him better eyes.  For now, the home made painted glass gems are okay -- it is still a learning/practicing project at this point.

Before I worked on the studio and the plaster cloth rabbitish guy I worked a little bit on the stitching of the felted flower.  I am trying to concentrate on making even, decorative stitches.

And this morning (and during the earlier part of the afternoon) I finished up the work on the next ten Tookies.

Today's Tookies progress:  Finger puppets 31-40 (of 100) got eyes, eyelashes, mouths, side seams, bottom basting for the edges, and soft edges.  

I work on the Tookies finger puppets in batches of ten -- these are 31-40 (of 100).  It takes a day to do the ears/horns and then the next day I can usually do the eyes, eyelashes, and mouths...then take a break for a bit.

And then go back to them and add the side seam and baste the bottom hem/edge and then add the soft edge at the bottom.

365/2013 - Day 30

100 Tookies are ready to ship!

Wa-hoooooo!  I finished packaging all of the Tookies, wrapped the boxes in "cellophane" (acetate) and they are in the shipping boxes!  Now I just need to write a quick note, tape them up and put a shipping label on them -- ready to ship to Artists in Cellophane tomorrow (unless I get iced into my driveway).

the completed and packaged Tookies waiting for the "cellophane"

all done!

365/2013 - Day 15

this batch of Tookies is done!

Yay -- 100 (actually, 102) Tookies are completed!  Okay...the finger puppets are done, now I need to do the label printing, packaging, insert printing, figure out what I will weight the box with this time, stuff the boxes, wrap the cellophane around the boxes, pack them for shipping...and ship them.  Heh...yeah, still quite a bit to do before I am ready to send them on to Artists in Cellophane (Art-o-mat HQ).  But...100 (+2) are done!!!

 The Tookies finger puppets -- done!

65 in the jar and 37 in the small bin.

All of the Tookies finger puppets together.












And...I have been fooling around with reference pictures and sketches for possibilities for the black sheep-creature.

I could extend his neck and nose and face shape and try to turn him into a llama-creature.

Or maybe a camel-creature.

(The sketch is still a llama-ish guy.)

Or maybe a young solid-color camel-ish guy.

I don't know yet.

365/2013 - Day 14

back to work

Today I gave the remaining thirty-seven Tookies finger puppets their soft bottom edges.

The rest of the evening is for thinking and sketching.

365/2013 - Day 12

quick trip to the Art House, then 37 Tookies get "hair"

The art in the Art-o-mat machine in Royal Oak needs to be refreshed (but I am waiting on a tiny art order) -- and I needed to make a quick trip to the Northville Art House to switch out some art in that machine (to take to Royal Oak).  Since this was day two of unseasonably warm weather and the snow/ice is all gone, I thought I had better make a break for it and get up to the Art House.

Having this bum knee, I have been sticking close to home a lot -- especially during slippy times...so I missed seeing James Oury's snow sculpture "Spike the Dinosaur".  

I borrowed this photo from the Northville Art House's Facebook page.

Ohhhh...sad face...this is all that is left of Spike.

Carla showing me how Spike used to look.















While I was at the Art House I wanted to see Patricia Candor's show, "Hiding In Plain Sight", in the upper gallery -- but by the time I had taken the door off of the machine and put it back on again, my knee was pretty much done...I couldn't make the trip up the stairs.  Maybe next time!

In today's Tookies news...I decided to give the remaining 37 Tookies their "hair", rather than just completing my self-imposed daily limit of ten finger puppets.  I am glad I did it, but wow -- I am feeling it in my shoulders and arms -- that is a lot of pulling on yarn!

It took about the same amount of time to do all the hair versus completing ten puppets...but it really made a difference physically.  At least my hands aren't hurting...LOL.

365/2013 - Day 11

more Tookies and starting to think about the house pages

Today's ten Tookies finger puppets --

No matter how many I make, they are never the same.

 
Looks like there are a couple of shy Tookies in this batch.

The Tookies jar -- 65 down, 35 to go!
















I am starting to put some ideas on paper for the "house" project at the ATC Exchange Group.  The ten of us participating in this side project will each make ten 4"x6" (horizontal) pages and we will get nine back in exchange and then we will have a total of ten pages to bind together into a little book (leaving a half-inch margin on the left side for the binding).

This is one very basic idea I have.  Something like the front of an apartment house with doors and windows that open to reveal stuff going on inside.  These are very rough sketches.

 

The thing is, I have so many ideas and so many materials in my studio that I have rarely used -- that'd be perfect for this project.  Sometimes having such open subjects is a problem for me...We can interpret the term "house" in any way that strikes us.  I have a whole lot of ideas...maybe I will make ten totally different pages...or maybe I will develop several and then choose my very favorite one.  But then again, collage and eraser carving both would be great for this project, too.

I have lofty ideas of making pop-up features or sliding things, etc.  Those may not happen.  I am excited about this project and I hope my pages come out the way I see them in my head.  I can't wait to see everybody's pages!  The pages are due at the next meeting in February.  We will bind our pages that night at Scrappy Chic.