A Mouse Who Would be King

Now that this little guy has been safely delivered to his new home, I can share him with you.

I’ve been influenced by the holiday season and created my version of the Rat King from the Nutcracker.  Except he is more of a mouse than a rat, but who is quibbling about rodents?  Serious Sir Simon has a smirk on his face, not taking his role too seriously, standing straight at attention to respond to your requests.

I tried a new to me technique for creating this bespoke art doll and I really liked it.  I still wanted a doll that was somewhat posable, but I didn’t want the complications (read that as time consuming) of ball joints.  So this little 8 inch guy is made with paper clay head, hands and boots with a wire and batting body. His head is covered with faux fur.  He has limited posing capabilities, but his tail is posable.

He wears a handmade, vintage velvet coat with gold bead buttons, a vintage ribbon sash and shiny boots.

Definitely more of these little guys to come.

Thanks for checking out this little guy!

 

#creativepaperclay

 

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My Blue Angel-We Hold the Key

This mixed media project started with a curbside find.  Poor outdated little thing!  In the picture, I have started with a coat of artist white gesso on her

How many times might you have looked at one of these 1980’s cast offs in the thrift store?  Well, I thought I might be able to do something to her to give her a lovely make over.  With Christmas coming, I got to work.  I did a cut out on my scroll saw to accommodate a miniature frame, creating a shadow box effect for a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Birdcage.   I used a mixture of Delta Ceramcoat navy and Gleams 14k gold acrylic paint to create my own version of a colored metallic paint for the base color which created a shimmery teal color which made me happy.

Today, after a mixed media application of a sculptured head that I wasn’t completely happy with,  a variety of materials; Creative Paper Clay used in an Iron Orchid Design casting (on the head piece) and vintage buttons castings, several Artminds laser cut wood scrolls from Michaels, beads, microbeads, rhinestones, a Vintaj brass bird whispering in her ear, and bits from my collection of cast offs, with metallic gold highlighting and Thicketworks DIY rust paste, I’d say she was looking a lot better.

Isn’t that rust paste gorgeous?

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key

Eagles-Already Gone

 

Pumpkin Witch Doll Sculpt

The Pumpkin Witch–she will cast a spell on your fall harvest!

Reminiscent of the old kitchen witch, the pumpkin witch will guard your kitchen and home against evil.

This Pumpkin Witch is a bespoke doll made with sculpted and painted head, hands and feet from paper clay with a soft posable body made with wire and polyester batting.  Remember those sculpted hands I posted on  my Facebook page?

Her clothing is made from vintage fabrics and lace salvaged from napkins, bureau scarves, and other items.

Happy Halloween!

 

(After my last post, I noticed a lot of people who are interested in genealogy started following me.  Although genealogy is one of my interests, this blog is more about my art and my home renovations rather than genealogy, although I may occasionally throw in some mention of my or my husband’s family history.  I apologize for any confusion in what this blog is about)

My next blog post will be about creating faux brickwork on my kitchen walls.

 

Thanks for reading!

#creativepaperclay

 

Pumpkin Jack gets a Makeover

I created Jack in 2014 and you can see him when I originally wrote about him Here.  I’m especially proud of Jack because he was the first thing I made out of Creative Paper Clay and he emerged magnificently!  I was going to enter Jack into an exhibit, and this would have been his debut.

I had to work on him again due to some construction issues.  I’ve learned a lot since creating him.

I wanted to spiff him up a bit and I proceeded to improve upon his base.

However, the dates for the show take-in was changed and because of other commitments, I didn’t finish him in time for this show before Halloween.  Well maybe next time.

Before

After

Thanks for checking him out!

#creativepaperclay

 

Persephone Returning from the Underworld

She said no to the dress.  She said that is not who she is.

This project went in a totally different direction.

She was Persephone, the Goddess of the Underworld. Captured by Hades, her mother, Demeter, cast a curse on the land.  No crops would grow until her daughter was returned to her.  After some deliberation,  Hades allows her to return to the world to bring us spring, and then she must return to him and fall begins.

Her upper arms are pressed birch leaves and her upper legs are covered in birch bark, representing the trees in the fall when she must return to the Underworld.

Her torso is covered in custom molded paper clay objects, and dried flowers, including lily of the valley, Goddess symbols for her, painted in pale green.  Her head is adorned in grape vine wreath with crystals, a gem associated with her.

Persephone can sit, stand on her own, but also has a custom stand.

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Spring in the Woods- Spotted a New Elf

When was the last time you were in the woods and you were startled by a rustling in the undergrowth?  But when you look, nothing!

Myself, I think it would be an elf.  Small ones.  Not the human sized ones that modern movies have made famous, but the smaller ones of the old English countrysides.  You see, elves used to be small and light, like what we now think of as fairies.  Like that but without wings.

I’ve been working on my friend for a while now.  My second attempt at ball jointed dolls. She is only partially BJD.  I am glad that she can stand on her own.

Now for her costume and hair!

Check in next week when she might have something on!

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The Little Time Traveler

“So, what have you been doing?”  I’ve had that question a lot lately.  It’s a hard question to answer sometimes when you’re not busy with a job or activities that most people have to fill up their days.

I have been doing me.  Taking some time to assess where I am going.  Most people don’t have that luxury and I am grateful for it.  But enough of the philosophical.

I took a really nice online course for mixed media through the Graphics Fairy taught by Heather Tracy from Thicketworks.  I learned some great techniques that ended up helping me to complete a project that was sitting on the shelf for a few months nearly a year as I waited for the inspiration to complete it.

You might remember my little friend from a previous post, but now I have finished his little time machine.  I am so in love with this, but it will be submitted in my first “Call to Artists” in a couple of weeks with the Salem Arts Association.

Go to the link here to see the video of the time machine and discover the little surprise it has inside.

 

 

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