365/2013 - Day 89

Thank You, Ace...

I felt like a Project Runway designer leaving Mood after my trip to Ace this afternoon.  SO much more helpful and enthusiastic than the Home Depot folks (sorry).  But, after all, ACE is a hardware store and HD is not.  The first young guy behind the Services counter listened and seemed to get what I was asking, but I think maybe he is sill sort of new.  He called someone named Joe over and Joe was GREAT!  Another young guy (slightly older-looking and a bit more familiar with the store/products) Joe is fabulous at thinking outside of the normal hardware uses box.  Once we got rolling,  he had really wonderful suggestions!  And I want/need to say that both of the guys knew what I was talking about when I was describing the smaller double-pointy-ended-roundy-tack thing.

I still need to come up with a counterbalance weight item to replace the container of cat litter -- we just couldn't find anything that would be dead weight AND relatively inexpensive...BUT...while I was at the check out Joe DID get a last-second idea and came back with some metal ribbon-like thing with continuous holes in it...if I get something like a cinder block or anchor or something I can strap it down with this stuff (last photo).

Part of what took me so long to get started tonight was I had to figure out how I could position the croco-creature without needing to bend down and work upside down from my chair (like I did yesterday) and still not hammer into the wood and keep bouncing the table top base on the casters.

This is what I finally came up with and it seems to be working pretty well.  IF the croco-creature starts to go off-balance I can catch him easily at this height.  It is actually more stable than it looks.

I was hoping the cabinet was going to fit in between the casters but it didn't.  But the box of foil does!

I know...I know...it does look a bit precarious but it is pretty stable.

THESE smaller, rounder, double-pointed tack things!!!  And I have them in black and in silver tone...LOL

This was another idea Joe came up with after I described the situation.  The copper bends easily!

I am forcing myself to only do a few at a time to save my hand.  It surprises me how much work it still is using the drill to screw the screws into the wood.

This is the stuff that I can use to strap down whatever it is I end up using to replace the container of cat litter.

ALSO earlier today...

Juana and I went to lunch and to LIFT and to the m:tg card shop and had a great time...but first I brought her the Wowl.  I've only "owed" her this guy (for her birthday) since probably 2010 because I made him in 2011.   A couple of days ago I finally got up the nerve to varnish him. 

When I got home and got around to looking at Facebook I found that Juana had already done a photo shoot with the Wowl -- cool!  He looks so different to me in a setting other than my studio.  I am glad he is a hit.  Thanks for taking such cool pics, Juana!

365/2013 - Day 88

finishing coats -- drying day

Okay!  I applied the finishing coats to two guys today...now they need to dry.

cat-king-creature, of course

and oh my goodness -- who is THIS guy -- remember him???  I finally got up the nerve to varnish him

wow -- it has been an incredibly long time since we last saw the wowl

365 Day 262

back to work on the wowl

Wow -- that is a lot of dots and circles!




It is cool to me how adding the lightest color of pink makes it look like some of the dots and circles are floating...or at least more dimensional/layered.













Tonight I added about a million of the lightest pink dots and circles in three sizes.
















I don't think I am done yet.















I am not sure what else I want to do or even if I will leave the dots/circles or start over.
















The wowl seems to be happy enough, though.






























I don't know.
I don't know.
And I don't know.

365 Day 246

more on the wowl's hot pink paint layer

I am kind of pleased with the way the painting is turning out on the wowl. A couple of days ago (365 Day 244) I wasn't so sure I was happy with it yet.


Late last night I added the lines to the feathers.

What I really like is how it looks like some of the feathers are almost floating.















This morning I added some circle marks in hot pink, which is the darkest pink I am using. Based on the results so far I have decided to put that as the bottom color and go lighter as they get layered up.














another view of circle marks

















I added another layer with smaller hot pink dots of several sizes.











another view





The wowl seems a bit cheerier today.

365 Day 244

the painting of the wowl continues...


This is the second color of pink on top of the first layer of pink dots/feathers.


it's funny...from this camera angle, they don't look as lined up as when I am working on them








The next "first" coat on more feathers.















Second coat on second set of feathers.














Third coat/second color on second set of feathers.















And I suppose I could paint everything black if I decided I wanted to start over at some point...we'll see how it goes.

365 Day 243

getting back to painting the wowl

I am really trying to approach the painting of this plaster cloth wowl with the no-expectations feeling of Experimental Art Night. Emphasis on the word trying. I do have images in my head of how I would like it to look and unfortunately they really conflict with my real life abilities. That is why I am trying to adapt the sorts of things I learned at Experimental Art Night to this project.


Here is the back of the wowl's head.

















This is that test page of pink paints I made.

I am going with the Electric Pink for the base of the design.











This is the first layer of the design...for now.















And I added dots to the dots around the eyes.











You have no idea how stressed I get when I work on the painting of these guys. This is as far as I got tonight. I may come back and see if it is dry enough to try something more later on before bed.

an attempt at a video for the blog

This is take two of my "first" attempt at a video for the blog. It is called "Lookin' at YOU".

Please excuse the ambient sounds and slightly shaky & blurry camera work...I was trying not to laugh. And yes, my studio is a mess...LOL.

365 Day 235

work on the wowl continues

Woah -- explanation time (not an excuse): I had to get an injection at my physician's office late yesterday to try and calm down these allergic reactions and total itching...it has felt like there was poison ivy on every single inch of my body...I just wanted to pull my skin off. So I went for the injection and last night I guess it started to kick in a little. I was a bit nauseous but still itchy. Today I am less itchy but extremely wiped out and a still mildly nauseous. My legs are a little wonky and I feel slightly off balance. I finally had no choice but to stop fighting to stay awake...I ended up sleeping (on and off) for a large part of the afternoon and evening. I just woke up and came in to work on the wowl a bit...but I am still not feeling right and now I am pretty overheated. (Wah, waaaah, wah...poor Took.)
Okay. So this was the wowl on Day 232. I had pulled the masking tape off to reveal the eyes and was disappointed to see so much paint and plaster cloth come off with the tape that was only loosely attached.









This is the cleaned up version from yesterday. I think it turned out pretty well. I still have a LOT of details to work on, but I am happy with the wowl at this stage.











Its eyes do follow you, too...a little eerie.











I got these Japanase-looking papers at an artist's garage sale a few weeks ago...I was thinking I might be able to use a bit on the wowl.














I carefully tore the white paper with the gold beetles and applied Golden matte medium to the chest of the wowl, the back of the paper and then over the top of the paper, smoothing out as much of the air as I could. I will have to see how it looks when it is dry.











So far the wowl seems kinda pleased with the progress.

365 Day 231

working more on the wowl

Today I am back working on the "wowl" that I am making for Juana's 2010 birthday present.



I took the wowl outside to spray it with camouflage black paint. It is incredibly flat black paint and according to the can, you use it for painting camouflage objects.

This is the first coat over the really pink paint from last time.

Juana really likes the color combination of pink and black.
I hope she likes this when it is done.









This is the second coat of black -- very wet heavy coat -- that is why it is so shiny.















Again, the wowl wanted to dry outside and since it wasn't as windy as last time I put it in the sort of alleyway that leads up to my back door.

It seemed happy.












A nearly dry wowl back in my studio.













You know how I hate to paint plaster cloth guys...and how I don't seem to mind painting at Experimental Art Night quite as much? I still don't know how I will detail this guy but I had a brainstorm to -- duh -- practice layering the colors the way I do at class.


I started with some black acrylic paint on cardstock.










Next I put out dabs of the three colors of pink I expect to be using. Hot Pink on the left, Electric Pink on the right and Baby Pink along the bottom.





After they were thoroughly dry I tried the layering to see what they'd look like.



The colors in this photo aren't as true as in person, but you can get the idea. I played with combinations, varied which was on the bottom and which was on the top layer. Then I tried dabbing all of the three pinks together.

It actually was less stressful...I'm not exactly ready to say I found it fun, but it was better. I like it when techniques from Experimental Art Night creep into projects I am working on.





The wowl and paint samples page drying in my studio.

365 Day 225

workin' on a plaster cloth "wowl" this weekend



The gesso coat goes on.






















The wowl sitting precariously (kinda) on top of a mint tin to dry.











Outside for a base coat of PINK...it will not stay this color


















He wanted to dry outside, but he understood that it was just too windy












Inspired by some tiny teensy tiny carvings by Leann Meixner, I got the brilliant idea to try carving some feathers for the wowl...

Well, I think they look more like leaves than feathers -- and I posted the pics to Facebook for a few more opinions and for the most part, folks agreed that they looked more like leaves.







...although I kind of liked this one.















the little carvings















I went back to the drawing board and tried a longer shape with not much better luck...this was the best of about six.











If you know me at all, you probably figured out by now that I was basically trying to find a way around having to paint.

But really, the point is moot because the stamp that I did like showed me that the painted plaster cloth surface doesn't want to be stamped on anyway. Even if I used a wet, wet paint...and cleaned it every time to get the paint out of the stamp...it just isn't going to work...LOL...I will have to paint.

And no doubt I will find a groove at some point and get into it, but I am fairly nervous about it right now.








See...combo of not enough ink/paint and not enough surface to show the design...AND can you imagine how many times I'd have to stamp that image...and clean the stamp in between.











It is a small stamp.

















(Okay, Took...we get it.)









I have a lot of flat painting to do before I get to the detail/decorative part...I am sure I will come up with something by then.

I like the little stamps I carved and I will put them to use in some other project.