SummerFest- Free E-Class Tutorial- Time to Make the Ghoulies Part Three

 I can't believe it's monday already and another week has past!

First thing we need to do is make a pair of boots for our ghoulie

so that he can stand on his own.

all we are going to need is the paperclay, a few tools and  a skewer. by the way- the skewers

come in handy for a multitude of reasons- but the coolest is that they are just a hair larger than the

15 gauge armature wire- which allows all your pieces to fit together just right.

work a piece of clay into a cylinder form.

place on your table and cut in half. one for each foot.

shape into a triangle form and then pull up one side to form a boot- and round

out the front.

take the flat end of the skewer and poke a hole for the leg wire

to go in- once that hole is in there- then you can gently place your ghoulie

into the boots- to make sure you have a good fit, and the wire sits in the boot properly.

i added little buttons for effect.  place them up on a piece of styrofoam to dry-

you can put them anywhere flat really, just not wood (the oils will seep into clay).

i just use a piece of styrofoam because it is clean and "seep free"- nothing in it to come out

and nothing you put on it will seep in.

while they are drying, it is time to rip up some fabric.

i used coffee stained muslin. you may use what ever fabric you choose- just rip

it up into strips that wil fit comfortably around your ghoulie.

and start wrapping.

leave some hangers- ghoulies can be so messy.

gently place in the boots again- to make sure the wrappings don't do down

to far, and the boots dont fit.  once the first wrapping sets, and the boots are dry

glue the boots in place and then give the ghoulie another wrap.

now is the time to start playing with your ghoulie. paint, embellish, give the final

touches.

the finished ghoulie is within sight!

Q&A:

thank you for all of the emails! i will get to everyone of you!

and thank you Elizabeth! that means my goal has been achieved! to take some of the intimidating out of art dolls. This is just a beginning. like i explained- these are your basic, basic steps. but once you start (and you will :O)  you will develop your own style and technique; your work will become more refined and intricate- never worry about watching someone else- that is where inspiration comes from- if one werent to teach another- the "art of" would fade away. 

Allison; The objective is to develope your own style, and not continue to copy someone elses. when your starting out you are mimicking actions- as an artist your talent will shine through and so will your own style. it takes loads of practice. some people think you can just wake up and be good at something- just because someone else is-  what they dont show you are the hours and hours of work it took to get there. it is fun. it is an amazing thing to be able to do, actually- but it is also a great deal of work to perfect.

Ger:  no, you did not miss the steps. i realise i did not go over hands and face painting. that is for a whole other day!:O)  this is for getting the basic armature and form down. just a look to take the scarey out of the whole process.  i had a number of people approach me not understanding or knowing how to begin- my answer to them is this basic step class to get them started on their way.

okay- see you all next week!!

live well.

love each other.

Looking down the path, Wips and Exciting news!

A view from my window reminds me that the change of seasons has finally taken hold. Up until a few days ago, the canopy was thick with leaves and the underbrush still quite green. The dawn brought a new mystical look to the woods around the studio; the fog rolling up through the valley- now visible as the transformation of thicket to sparse winter cover has been completed. Yesterdays dreams of basking in warm sunshine have been replaced by dreams of the first snowfall. Anticipating the brisk air, the long quiet nights and glow of hearth fires I look forward to the upcoming change once more.

Prior to the wonderfully haunting and Magical Halloween party (hosted by our dear friend Vanessa at a Fanciful Twist)- we were in the middle of a few Wips- The conclusion to these Wips was the addition of the Opaque Flake Medium (Goldens)- remember how I said “go for the Flake and not the Opaque...” Once dried- the flake stands out and the medium disappears into the background (since we added nothing to it) giving the appearance of leaves, snow, etc. with three-dimensional values. A very cool effect.

For the color blocked squares- I went back and mixed a paint two hues off from the original base color- and individually painted the leaves in, leaving parts of the flake bare to give natural highlights and further the dimensional effect. A coat of archival clear gloss and a dark edge paint- and they are done! And it is time to move on to other projects~

I am working on a project entitled "Sideshow Freaks" with one of my groups- and this little darling will be the next WIP that I share with you. She was inspired by Josephene Myrtle Corbin, (1868-1928)- and is quite a fun piece to work on!

It is also time to start looking forward to the Christmas holiday rush- the Elves are on their way!

In other news from the studio-

I am very excited to share that The Canvas Project book has been published! Hoot!! And am even more excited to share this! :

Yeah!!

I also want to direct everyone to the link on the left side bar to the Where Women Create blog! If you haven't viewed their blog- you must run over immediately and check it out! What a magical wondrous journey. I am just over the moon that I have been included on their "Link" list (Wadsworth-Noll Studio)! Life is super good!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Hallo'ween and Blessed Samhain!

Until next time,

Enjoy each other.

Live well.

All Right All Ready! I'm coming Sonia!! (out of my broom closet)

Some how or another- I missed an entire post by our dear, dear love her to death PAIN IN MY TUKAS- Sonia! I do not know how- but I did. I think I was distracted and intent on her post about her dad- that I didn't realize that she posted it twice! And well- enough with the excuses- I just missed it. SO. since she is just such a subtle woman (how many times are you going to out me about being a social introvert??? LOL) and left me hint after hint after hint (helllllllloooooo- If ya want me to see something ya need a flashlight with a laser pointer and couple of pink poodles pointing in that direction!) I decided to re-visit her blog - and not only did I find this SCREAM award - but also.. AHHH HAAA HAAA I won her give away!!!!! Seriously. What are the odds. I was having one of THOSE days, being my last in the corporate world- so. I went Internet surfing! And there was Sonia- SCREAMING at me from a far. Can anyone ignore this woman? I mean really? How FAB is she! Always there with a push, a kind word, a creative bounce, a hysterical, honest laugh- always reminding us to treat each other better- love more- create more and live fuller (that and a cattle prod cleverly disguised as a paintbrush, a blaring Pink CD and a smack on the head if ya' get out of line!) As such, I am going to make an attempt here. I didn't say I was going to abide by all of the rules, mind you - I said I was going to make an attempt. I owe her a total of fourteen "things about me" from this and previous awards she so graciously bestowed on me- So I am going to mix everything together. And so that no one gets too bored- I am going to mix in some photos of works in progress, my social "club" (non-human) in the studio and various other ditties. It should be noted first- that I bought a new camera this week - it is..... SO FREAKIN COOL- and yet will take me three years before i figure out all the damn buttons and what they do- so- your gonna have to suffer through a plethora of photographs for a while- cause i am taking pictures of EVERYTHING! muwah haa haa- ok- here goes:
(1.) I was born in Texas and have lived in Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. (2.) I was put in ballet at the age of five to make me a girlie-girl (ya- how'd that work out for you mommy dearest) until it was very apparent I was going to be a TALL girl. (3.) I am 5 foot 11 inches tall. (4.) I have colored and shaved my hair so many times- I don't know what color the real color is. It has been: black, brown, red, purple, platinum (not a good look), raven (black/dark blue), auburn, blonde (again- not so good) and currently black/fuchsia. (5.) I have three tattoos. and am jones'ing for more. (6.) I am a complete history freak (7.) I love books. no, I mean I LOVE books- I have every book I have ever read, when I moved two years ago- I counted what I had then- 2,420. (8.) I ran "road-kill scavenge" for the local environmental agency when I was in college. (you guessed it- I picked through dead birds and animals for markings and tags- hmmm. yummy.) (9) In college, I majored in: Environmental Law, European History, American History (pre-industrial), Ornithology, Shakespearean English, Radio/TV pre- and post- production, Physics and Chemical Science. I minored in German and Art History. I love to learn new things. just call me freak. (10.) I think less fake-giggling and more honest laughter would do this world a great justice. (11.) I always obey the law but equally break the rules. (12.) I am dyslexic. It took me six months to figure out that the wall in the bathroom at Godfrey Daniels said " Dyslexics Untie" - I still think it is funny. (13.) I can ask directions, order a beer, find a hotel and ask where the bathroom is in seven languages and hold a conversation in four. (14.) I AM NOT anti-social. I enjoy observing people. Watching them get themselves in all kinds of trouble and awkward situations out of shear stupidity; enjoy themselves with shear delight and interact with one another as only humans can. There is a difference between anti-social and disengaged. I am "delightfully disengaged" LOL.
All righty then. Any of you want to know what the "rules" are to this award, can go on over to Sonia's blog and read them there. (this is the part that I break the rules...)


I myself, am not so much a screamer. well, not about, well. anyway... There are those blogs out there that I have to touch base with, check in on and just inspire the crap out of me. And as you can see, inspiration takes on many forms.

Before I commence with the list- it must be said that- truly believing in blogging without obligation- this in no way obligates anyone to accept, post, distribute or otherwise facilitate the usage of this award in any way. I am merely making my awesome, talented, seriously disturbed holding my birdie hostage, I mean- LOVE YOU SONIA friend happy and making an attempt to reassure her that I am not anti-social- they already caught the uni bomber - thanks for the support now lets get on with it... :o)

I know Renee has received this award before, along with countless others, but to me- she is the definition of inspiration- she makes me laugh, cry, scream, sit in awe and just overall inspires me to do everything better.

Heather is an amazing person, a spectacular artist and funny as hell. If you have never seen her work- you really must! Her attention to detail is mind boggling- just fabulous! And I am super excited to announce that she will be one of the first feature artists when I open the Noll for art retreats in the fall of 2010. (excitement, excitement, excitement!)

Carrie inspires me with her strength through adversity, her wicked sharp sense of humor, and not only is she a phenominal beader (serious respect for this beading thing!), she has a natural gift when it comes to experimentation and trying new techniques. My hero.

Luz: What is there to say about Luz? She makes me scream! She freakin rocks! Talent out the wazooooo- and a fire and passion for life, her family and her friends. that is truly inspiring. She is the ever-so-proud wife of a military man who has spent way too much time deployed- and she faces every day with grace (ok- not everyday- but then, that is when it gets fun!) and conviction- She is honest, in your face, tell it like it is. Courage and faith- I am proud to call this woman friend. (all she has to do is get off her blasted bum and open that etsy shop! oh my. did I say that? lol)

Di: because she lives and breathes talent, grace, courage, wild passions for life and the desire to be. Di is simply an amazing woman.

So there you have it. my list. It's not "10"- but they are so very important to me.

So now that am done - I can stop with the pics, although since I was playing with my camera- there is one thing that I am going to miss about where I worked. That is the view from the parking lot. This is the cathedral across the road from the lot. It stands proudly among dilapidated buildings, drug houses and a very dirty looking post office. As you can see- the great Gothic point rises above the otherwise depressing city. I must have gazed upon this building a thousand times- and every time it transported me to another time. Another place. The stories this building must be able to tell. I love it when architecture has the ability to move you. Don't you?

Have a wonderful week. Be creative. Be happy. Be.

Challenge complete

I belong to this grand group called Mixed Media Mischief Makers- a hysterical bunch of, you guested it... Mischievous mixed media Artists! We just finished the current challenge (actual end date is tomorrow- Can you believe I actually finished on time! I am Always behind! ) This challenge was based upon "Wicked" or the "Wizard of Oz". My offering to this challenge is "the two faces- Which witch will you be today?" OK - so I took emotions from a current "real life" dilemma and read into the whole good witch/bad witch scenario- but it works in the end- and helped me work through issues! what more could I ask for?

A 20x16 canvas with layers of pain, liquid paper clay, glaze, molding paste, paint and a green interference (to make the Emerald City glow)

The Witch mask is a free sculpt mask with creepy purple eyes and a felt hat and ribbon accents all sliced through the canvas, resealed and glued down so that it it three dimensional. I have to say here - that I usually have a real hard time with the whole green faced witch. It's a lifestyle. But I worked through it to complete the challenge and it was OK since it was based upon the character in the book/movie. And reading further into the two main characters, I have always interpreted the green witch being "bad" because of being so jealous - which is reflected by green..... so you see...

I can't wait till the next challenge- Alice in Wonderland... this is gonna be fun! A great change of pace. challenges, that is. They make you think/create/travel in directions down roads that you usually don't travel.

Back to the studio...

Have a great weekend!