Figure from Class - A Better Picture

Here is a better picture of the figure I created this weekend - she was not happy that I didn't share a good one :0)

She is wearing leather boots (which are almost complete), a leather bustier and a necklace of strung garnet beads. Though they are hard to see in the picture, she also has feathers in her hair. 

She is very gypsy-like and is evolving as I accessorize her! The trim around her waist isn't tacked down yet and her headpiece is not complete but they are at least in progress and thankfully I am having a great time with her!

I'll post more soon.

Update - Froud Workshop

Toby Froud, Digby and Me

I am home from Portland and the amazing Wendy and Toby Froud workshop. I had such a fabulous time and I am wiped out! Above is a picture of me and Toby, along with Digby, the star of Toby's short film Lessons Learned.

Wendy Froud and Me

Wendy is a warm, talented and genuine soul. She is kind and friendly and so easy to be around. It was just amazing to watch her and Toby as they created this weekend. They are willing to share their talent, tips, tricks and knowledge and if you ever get a chance to meet them - Do it! Wendy inspired me to sculpt and every time I take a class with either her or Toby I learn more. My skills expanded this weekend and it was wonderful.

My creation is not quite done but here is a peek at her. She is sitting on the dashboard of my friends car so the picture isn't the best.

She stands about 16 inches tall and was so much fun to make! I'll be showing you the very first sculpture I ever did alongside this sweet girl to show you that practice is really all you need to increase your skill level - ok, and maybe some really great teachers! If live classes are not available in your area DVDs are the way to go! Wendy does have a couple of DVD sets that are available and if you are interested in sculpting fairies or character figures of any style, I would highly recommend them.

I am working on her jewelry and head piece right now. She may get wings though that is entirely up to her. I hope to show you the completed piece by the end of the month, regardless of her state of completion, I'll update with some comparison pics this weekend.

Stay tuned for my class recap and my experiences on the road!

Birdcage Fairy Update

You may remember this sweet little fae, she has been waiting rather patiently for me to finally get around to finishing her. Well, I am almost done.

Additional curls

Petals, sleeves and belt

Close up

As you can see she is coming along. I have to finish her wings and then find a way to put her inside her new home. I love the look of her beaded tiara. It is exactly what she needed for that hair-doo!

Here home is almost ready for her. The rug is embroidered and the window flowers are in.I plan on making some curtains for the bottom area and then adding a chair but that will be after I finish her. I am not sure how well she is going to fit but I am going to do my best. If I can't put her on the perch then she'll have a different home... I'll keep you posted!

Up Next...

This week I submitted an application for a Craft Fair. It is, in my opinion, the best one in our area and I would be honored to be a vendor. It is a juried show and I had to submit lots of pictures with my application. I should hear something in the next couple of weeks. I am exited though trying to not be. I've already decided that if I don't make the cut I'll still be making the items I have planned and be putting a lot of things on my Sunflower House Art (SHA) Etsy shop which is currently up and ready but not stocked so not open.

I've waited until now to open the SHA Etsy shop because I really didn't want to sell any of my sculpted work until I was proud of the quality of my work. I love what I do, I am very happy with the quality of my sculptures and I am ready to share it with the world. So, you'll be seeing a lot more activity on this blog as I post progress pictures, regardless of which direction life takes me.

Here is one of my current works in progress. She just came out of the oven and I have a couple of ideas for her, we'll see which one she prefers.

I'll be working on the Birdcage fairy this weekend as well. She is still in the same state of costuming that she has been in for months. She is not going to be put up for sale so I am not in a hurry to finish her. I really love her and I've decided that she is going to be hanging out here in the studio rather than fly off to a new home.

My thoughts for the show and the shop both are of creating a mixture of regular and zombified sculpts, I have so much fun with the zombies and I think it shows, there is just somethings fun and fascinating about them. I'm also making a couple different styles of stands and hanging display boxes for my work. A good stand can truly make or break a piece.

I'll keep you posted!

Indigo

Indigo

Well, Indigo arrived in her new home on Wednesday so here are her progress pictures as pomised:

I wanted to use the indigo color hair I dyed along with some black and this is what I ended up with. Neither of us were pleased with the results so this hair was peeled off and I started over.

This color worked much better and I had tons of it. I washed and conditioned the pelt and let it air dry to keep the lovely waves.

We have hair! She liked this color so much more than the black/indigo combo.

Fleshing out the body. This time I did go for a much smaller waist than the Birdcage fairy has. 

We now have skin. As you can see her waist is really too small but once I add the clothing it will look closer to normal. 

Ready for Clothes

Wings

Closer

Side View

As you can see her over skirt has been beaded. I love this technique. It really finishes off the skirt. She is holding a blueberry in these pictures. 

Indigo

It is hard to see the detail on the wings. These wings were created using Fantasy Film and Wire. Once I had the wings created I added beads and feathers to finish them off. She turned out pretty darn cute for only having a week to work on her. 

Indigo Fairy - The Beginning

I love online swaps and recently I joined one called Needful Things which is being hosted by Val over at Yarnigras Swapper Spot. We are to make at least one of the items we send our partner and then can either purchase or make at least 5 other fun things. Well, after careful deliberation I chose to make a fairy for my partner in her favorite color. I know that the fairy will exceed the $30 package cost but I am too excited about making her to care!

Armature

Taped and Ready for Clay

Tools of the Trade

Baked and Ready for More

This sweet little fae must be complete and mailed by this Saturday so I'll be moving pretty fast on her. 

Yesterday I dyed several hanks of fabric including some Dupioni Silk and a nice cotton sheeting along with a small pelt of Tibetan Lamb.

Original Pelt

Rinsed and Ready to Go

Tools

In the Dye

I searched the internet and found several ideas for dying the hair but the products they mentioned (other than Kool-Aid) were either not available locally or were not in stock in the color I needed, so I decided to experiment.

I am using Dylon permanent fabric dye in a deep blue. Since this dye is also suitable for silk and wool I figured it should work.

To start I had to mix the dye with 4 cups of water and stir it until the dye was dissolved. Note – use a bigger bowl than I did. When stirring I managed to spill it on my white tile counter. The good thing is that it did clean up easily but I will have to take some scouring powder and scrub the grout to remove the last traces or dye.

I then rinsed the hair I planned to dye and gently patted it with a paper towel to remove the excess water.

Next I filled a container with enough water that the hair could move freely and added 4 tablespoons of salt. Stir to dissolve the salt.

Once the salt was dissolved in the water I added the dye, stirred it until it was completely combined with the salt water then in went the pelt of Tibetan lamb.

Now we wait. I let the pelt soak in the dye for an hour, checking it occasionally. I can tell you during the entire process that I had no idea how the hair was taking the color. The dye was just too dark and I didn’t want to rinse it early.

Once the hour was up I rinsed the pelt in warm (not hot!) water, combed it out and let it dry. Not too bad. I then let it sit in the dye overnight and got a slightly darker color. Next time I will either order the color I want from someone or order the correct dye online. 

Dry and Ready to Use

Thankfully the fabric I dyed is stunning and perfect for her costume and the Tibetan Lamb will work just fine to add streaks of color to her hair.

More Birdcage Fairy Progress Pictures

I am getting closer to the finish line with the Birdcage Fairy. Her costume is almost done and then I'll finish her hair and create her wings. I've had a quick project come up that has put a hold on her until this weekend. See bottom of post for more info!

Costume Detail

Tiara - final Bits

I am currently involved in an online swap called Needful Things and I am creating a fairy for my partner in her favorite color. Check back later today to see the beginnings of the Indigo Fairy.

More Progress Pictures

Here are a few more in-progress pictures of the little faerie.

Mohair is a fabulous medium to work with. You can use styling products on it just like you do your own hair. It is easy to curl and if you don't like the way the hair style turns our all you have to do it wet the hair and comb it.

In the first two pictures I used a dowel that I cut into approximately 1/2 to 1 inch pieces and warpped water dampened hair on, making super easy curlers. I then clipped the "curlers" in place using these darling clips that I found at the dollar store. You can use larger dowels to change the size of the curls. I recommend sanding the edges of your "curlers" so the curled hair doesn't tangle in the cut edge. 

Her hair is full of curlers. She is just waiting for everything to dry to see how they turned out. 

Once her hair dried I was able to remove the curlers. Right now her hair is still a little wild. She'll be getting a crystal tiara and some additional curls once she is costumed. At that time I'll really be playing with those curls. 

She finally got her skin! It still looked a little rough here but that is OK! All of the "muscle" is now covered and she has a shape to her. Since she a younger faerie she does not have that slim, hourglass, figure but I think she is going to be just fine. 

This is the preliminary base of her wardrobe. She still needs lots of work but she is really coming along. I hope to finish her costume this next week and then get to work on her wings and tiara. 

Stay tuned for more progress pictures - hopefully soon!

Works in Progress

My first post of the year was almost on February 1st which would have blown my only resolution for this blog. Happily, as I worked on organizing my studio this month I kept looking at a couple of the sculptures that I am working on and realized that a post about my works in progress was the perfect first post to kick off this new year. 

Mermaid in Waiting

I wrote about this current work in progress on this blog several years ago, seriously, in January of 2010 to be exact and she is in almost the same condition. All I have done is strengthen her arm in preparation for the pose she will have. While she is hanging from the stand by her head, once sculpted she will be reaching into a treasure chest which will be lodged on a piece of coral of some sort or on the ocean floor. I am really looking forward to working on her this year.

Sometimes I think that they have been waiting for my skills to increase enough to work on them and do them justice. Hopefully they'll be satisfied!

Here are a couple of other works in progress: 

Young Fairy

Her home

This little fairy will be posed in the coolest birdcage I have ever found at my local Goodwill store. She is younger than what I normally sculpt but that is who she is and I am certainly not going to argue with her! I am looking forward to finally finishing her so that she can enjoy the home I am working on for her. I have already embroidered a rug for the bottom of the cage and if you look closely I have added potted flowers to the inside ledges. 

This is Alice, she is the first full body sculpt I ever made and she has been difficult. I had problems with the clay cracking and was pretty discouraged but I patched her up and moved on. She is waiting for me to finish her clothing and her stand. She is currently sporting a crown I made during a class. She really likes it so she may just have to be depicted as Alice after her visit with the Hatter :0) We'll just consider the crown a gift from him.

Finally, my Goblin, he was also featured here in January 2010. I’ve made a bit of progress on him. His mock-up detective style coat is in the process of being tailored to fit so that I can make a nice form fitting jacket for him. I’ve started looking for a suitable “Holmes” style wool print to make the final coat with and the chain that is draped around him will be used for a pocket watch chain (industrial strength in case of emergency). 

These are the projects I will be finishing soon, I hope! I believe they have waited long enough.  

Check back soon  to see who got finished first! 

Off to the Show

Sebastian went off to the Graeagle Art show along with a handful of domino pendants. My woodland Faerie is still in progress and rather than rush her I chose to put her aside until after the show. She deserves to be spectacular so I am trying to be patient with her.

If you have ever created a figure, out of fabric, clay or any other medium you know that sometimes, regardless of what you had in mind, their personalities come through and if you don't follow their lead then everything tends to bog down. That is what is happening with my sweet little Fae. Here is what she looks like right now

Here clothing just isn't working for her. The tiara is not hers, she will be getting one in golds, browns, greens and purples, she does seem to like rich fall colors. Her hair still needs to be styled, her dress needs to be finished and her tiara needs to be finished. Hopefully she likes what I have in mind next.

Sebastian is having a great time in California. He loves being out and about. I'll post a picture of the booth once I get one.

Check back soon for some other projects that are in the works and for more information on the re-opening of the Sunflower House Art Etsy shop.

Here she is.... finally!

Well, at long last my sweet autumn fairy is complete. I finished decorating her staff today. Shei s finally done and will be taking a place on honor on top of my piano - I think.

Here are a few pictures of her from start to finish.

And here she is complete

Thanks for stopping by

Hope you have a happy and safe New Year!

Debbie