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Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Final Puck Emerges

After trying three different colors I finally settled on light brown horns for Puck.



I like the way his extra-large nose creates a visual balance with his horns and pointed ears.





He has real Tibetan lamb's hair on his legs. This took many hours because I added it one tuft at a time!





I gave him a leather satchel to carry his magical goodies in. The satchel is made of an old leather belt with a mother of pearl button. I made a flower out of lucite beads and wire and attached it to the satchel.





Check out his bushy tail in back.



Puck's balance was constantly changing as I added new elements to his body, and he stands nicely on his own now.




Puck is 14.5" tall, much larger than I'm used to. Here he is shown towering over my 4" Sarah art doll.




Monday, February 23, 2009

Sexy Puck

It's amazing how much difference hair makes. After I put on hair I have to get to know my doll all over again, he looks so different.

Now he's turning into "Sexy Puck". He has this wild and free mischievous appeal.



His horns are dark and they blend in with his hair, so I'm going to remove the dark paint and have them be light again.


Sunday, February 22, 2009

Puck Armature

Puck is coming right along. I have started to add hair now, but here is an update on how the armature evolved:










Wednesday, February 18, 2009

How to Make Polymer Clay Hands

by Waxela Sananda

We use our hands to gesture, accentuate, and emphasize our speech and emotions. Hands tell us so much about a person; what kind of work she does, how important grooming is, does he have a nervous habit (a nail biter)? The firmness of a handshake, and the caress of a loving hand tell us things that can't be expressed in words.


Hands are significant. As a doll artist, my doll's hands are something I do not cut corners on. I used to dread making hands. The fingers, the palms, the knuckles, and how do I get them to stay in place and not break off during shipping?

Now I've grown to enjoy making hands. I love the expression they add to my dolls. I'm far from mastering the art of sculpting hands, but I have come a long way, and now I want to share what I've learned with you.


The technique I show here is influenced by Wendy Froud.


Materials:

Flesh colored polymer clay (I have mixed two colors for this set of hands)
A flat edged tool (I use wood but metal works too)
A rounded end tool
Optional- wire, an Xacto knife, baby powder


Step 1: Make two balls of clay the same size. The balls will be the palms of the hands, and the palm is equal in length to the fingers, which means the ball you make will be half of the full hand length. Tip- an open hand will stretch from the chin to the hairline.











Step 2: Flatten the balls into a square shape that is a bit smaller on one end than the other. The smaller end will connect to the wrist.













Step 3: Make tube shapes for the fingers, a bit pointy at one end, flat at the other. When you make the thumb, include an extra length that will be the fleshy ball that connects the thumb to the palm.










Step 4: Bend the fingers into the position you want them in. A normal relaxed hand has slightly bent fingers. Form knuckles by pulling the finger apart gently, then pushing it together. Use your straight edge tool to put creases in the clay under the knuckles.













Step 5: Use your rounded end tool to press into the fingertip creating finger nails. Use your straight edge to put creases on the knuckles. Tip: The larger knuckle in the middle of the finger is curved on top and bottom, so make semi circles instead of straight creases.













Step 6: I use wire for added strength in the fingers. The wire is optional, however if you will be shipping your doll anywhere it does provide extra protection from breakage. Make a hole with the wire in the hand first, so that when you push the fingers into the hand the wire won't poke through the finger. Attach the fingers, making sure you have a right and a left hand, not two identicle hands.











Step 7: Use your tool to smooth out the fingers and add the thumb.














Step 8: Create knuckles on the hand by rolling small balls of clay and smoothing them onto the hand with your flat edge tool.





Step 9: Mark lines on the palms with your straight edge or Xacto knife. Use your own hands as a guide.















Step 10: Your hands are ready to bake. It is important to support your hands so that they hold their shape while baking. I use a piece of pre-baked clay to support the hands in the oven. Use a sprinkling of baby powder on the pre-baked support piece so that your hands won't stick to it.




That's it, your hands are done, and you deserve a hand!


Monday, February 16, 2009

Shakespeare Challenge- ADO

My Art Doll Team ADO is having a Shakespeare themed challenge. The rules: make an art doll of any Shakespeare character. That's pretty open, so I knew I had to do a non-human from Midsummer Night's Dream. Puck was the obvious choice.





Here is what Wikipedia says about Puck:

Puck is a clever and mischievous elf and personifies the trickster or the wise knave. In the play, Shakespeare introduces Puck as the "shrewd and knavish sprite" and "that merry wanderer of the night" and jester to Oberon, the fairy king.



Sometimes Puck is seen as a Satyr, and that is the Puck I am sculpting. I've always wanted to do a Satyr!


Here are some work in progress pics:



Head before eyelids:







Fully sculpted head:





Painted head:







Check back for updates, I'm working on the armature now!





Meet My Men:


Hubby Brett and Baby G

Thursday, February 12, 2009

OWOH Winners

My one world one heart drawing was this morning, I chose using the random number generator.

And the winners are:

Owl Man and Dia de los Muertos Earrings...

KATHY

Kathy said...
I would love to enter (and hopefully win) your drawing!
Please drop by my blogs if you get the chance: http://manickathy.blogspot.com/ http://comegrowwithme.blogspot.com/


and the Goddess flag goes to:

POCKETLAMA

pocketlama said... You've really got some nice work here! I'm crossing fingers and toes...:-)
You can also see my post if you're interested:http://pocketlama.livejournal.com/231814.html

(I guess crossing the toes works!)

Thank you to all who entered, be sure to come back for another giveaway next year!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Meet ADO!

Here are a few members of the ADO (art dolls only) team. Our team blog can be found at: http://artdollsonly.blogspot.com/
Click on the pictures to see their etsy shops.


CHERI VOELLMANN
"Flower and Faerie"

DANIELLE DAVIS


EVA BUCHALA



KY ELIZA
"Owl Boy"



Monday, February 9, 2009

Baby Girl Sock Monkey Birthday Cake Topper


The wedding cake topper monkeys turned out so well, that one mom was inspired to have me create a similar cake topper for her baby girl, who is turning one in March!

She has a diaper and a beautiful base full of flowers. I love this one.




Saturday, February 7, 2009

Baby G Rolls Over

Today is my lucky day. You can't plan for good luck, it just happens when it happens.

I was having a photo shoot with Baby G in the living room when all of a sudden, for the very first time, he rolled over...and I got it all in pictures.

Pre-roll...


roll in progress...

I did it!