365 Day 356

back to work on the experimental plaster cloth dog

My new box of plaster cloth arrived today -- two days early! I am running nearly out of the plaster cloth left in the older box I have been working out of and now that the new box is here I feel like I can work on a few other things while still finishing up on the construction of the cat-creature.


Here is the experimental plaster cloth dog. He has held together pretty well (so far)...but now what do I do with the base?

I put him up on the big table in the studio to try and think of a way to finish off the base with the Trader Joe's paper bags (that I have been using to build him).









There was just too much plaster cloth and dust on the studio table to work with masking tape so I took the dog guy out to the dining room table.

There was also more room to lay him out.





This is what the inside looked like after I tried to continue wrapping bags around the tomato cage in the same fashion as the upper part of the piece.








This is just not happening. There are already too many HUGE gaps on the inside between the untouched bag surfaces and the tomato cage. The outside flat surface with the plaster cloth is amazingly rigid.
















Every time I started over and tried to smooth out the bags, it just wasn't working. There was too much of a gap on the inside.









Sitting at the uncluttered dining room table I was able to have a major "duh!" moment -- if I cut the plaster cloth into triangle-shaped pieces so that they will fit to curves, why couldn't I do the same thing with the paper bags?

It worked...more work, but it lays flat outside AND inside.






I just kept turning the triangles to fit and slightly overlapped them.











But now what?

The upper section retained the wacky floppy shape of the overlapping flap of plaster cloth/paper bag on that one corner. It looks kinda cool, but I think I may have to cut it off.



















Another "what now" view.


I still don't know how I will close up the middle, but at least I can get the plaster cloth on the bottom of the base.







Back to the big table work area in the studio. The dog guy goes over on his side...only a teensy tiny part of the bottom of the base is actually touching the table, so I was able to apply the plaster cloth in three layers and then turn the dog guy over and do the other side -- without having to wait for it to dry (like the cat-creature). Plus, this is an experimental piece...let's see what happens.








Well, he made it (so far). Now he can dry and I can try and come up with a way to close up the middle.

I really have no idea (right now anyway) so I am going to leave him for tonight and keep thinking about it.












And I know I will be able to leave the piece alone tonight because Carla came over today and brought me some Christmas presents...such a thoughtful girl, that Carla.








The subtitle of The Confident Creative is "Drawing to Free the Hand and Mind".

The illustrations and exercises look really cool. I think I will be spending quite a bit of time with this book tonight -- THANKS, Carla!