Redwood Coast Creative Arts

My Bloody, Zombie Valentine

I have started on a new sculpture.  The idea came to me a couple of years ago.  She has been bouncing around in my head and morphing into different forms along the way.  About a year ago I quickly sketched this version out.  I have made some changes to the design in my head already but, the theme is basically the same.  I will be posting work in progress pic's as she comes to life, after death.  

Sneak Peek: Mandy- The Gypsy Contortionist

Mandy- Work in Progress

This is my current project.  Mandy, the Gypsy Contortionist.  I have lots more WIP (Work in progress) pic's to share as well as a little story  to tell about Mandy's life and personality.

Sitting at my Desk

I brought in some flowers from the garden yesterday.  I put them in a vase on my desk.  They smell so good and look so pretty.  I wish that they would bloom all year round. 

I'm giving my neck and back a little break from bending over my sculpture.  I don't have much to show yet but, her name is Mandy and she is a gypsy contortionist.  I'll post more pic's as I get her fleshed-out.

 

Sir Gibborous Grouser Noble Gnobbins Gnome, of the Curmudgeon Clan, of Royal Garden Gnomes, of the Wild Thyme Woods, Where the Wild Thyme Blows, where Oxlips and Nodding Violet Grows.

Here he is at last Sir Gibborous Grouser Noble Gnobbins Gnome, of the Curmudgeon Clan, of Royal Garden Gnomes, of the Wild Thyme Woods, Where the Wild Thyme Blows, where Oxlips and Nodding Violet Grows.  Please be sure to go and see more of him and read all about how he came to be in my "Art Saves" spot at CRESCENDOh

I have shared the dialog shared between us as he crossed over from the Faerie World of Magic and enchantment and into our world of mere mortals and garden gnomes made of stone.  There are also stepped out photos of his head being sculpted and painted.

Step out photos of his body in progress will be posted here this week so be sure to come back soon!

What's on my workbench???

I have been working on this guy all week.  I've had to take more breaks, eat more chocolate (dark of course), and drink more rum than you could possibly imagine!  This guy has been stressing me out!!!  He refused to give me his name or his story.  Possibly due to the fact that I gave him plastic eyes.  They are hollow and do not posses the life or soul of hand painted eyes.  Anyway, I came across some eyes and thought that I should put them to use.  Well, never again!  I have never known a creature to be able to hide it's entire identity and persona to me for so long.  I began to feel rejected.  My feelings of rejection caused me to retreat further into my anti-social reclusive ways.  My only companions were the rum and chocolate.  I gave him the silent treatment yesterday and apparently, it worked.  Today out of the blue he decided to tell me a bit of his story.  He is a garden gnome.  Not just any garden gnome mind you.  Oh no!  He is a royal garden gnome.  His clothing is made of the finest spider silk and golden lace and he wears a look of nobility on his gnomie little face.

The Cabin of Curiosities- Creepy Cool Cabin Dwellers and Dusty Decayed Dollies Galore!!!

A few pic's of the inhabitants of The Cabin of Curiosities:

Crusty Cowfolk 

Hairy Beast

Grungy Garden Faerie

Widow Sill Witch and Accomplices

Toy Soldier and Abandoned Baby Doll Head

The Wandering Gypsy Faerie

I was very fortunate to make it through the snow storm in the Sierras to take a cable mechanised puppetry workshop with Toby Froud in Reno, Nevada this past weekend. 

My usual 1-1/2 hour commute dragged out into a 6 hour adventure.  Not a very exciting, fast action adventure but a stuck on the road, in the mountains, in a snow storm, at a dead stop type of adventure!  Will I make it over the Summit tonight?  Will I get to sleep in a bed at the hotel or will I be stuck in the car for the night?  Will I make it to the workshop on time?  Will I be so burnt out from the journey that I am just not into the project?????  So, that was my adventure.  Not bad at all since I am the odd type of person that likes to push on through the uncertainty.  I get a kick out of it!!!

It all turned out just fine.  I made it to Reno by 10 PM, had a baked potato for dinner and headed off to bed.

Here is a pic of the head that I sculpted the first day of our workshop:

At this point she is a raw head of clay sculpted over a ball of aluminum foil.  At this stage she had not yet told me her story but I knew that she was a wise and wordly woman, of a certain age, and not a young pippy still green and wet behind the ears.

Even at this very "fresh" stage she held her head high and gazed upon the horizon of unlimited possibility...............................................................................................................

 

Here she is fully cured.  She found a body and got a little bit of sun.

Her close up

She hasn't told me her name yet but, I know that she travels and follows the whispers of the wind.  Perhaps once her eyes come through she will be able and willing to give me her name.

 

Orris Ruth- a Wild Caught Faerie

Here she is, Miss Orris Ruth (pronounced in Spanish Root, the "H" is silent).  Another member of  The Wild Caught Faerie Clan. 

Orris is the botanical name for Iris.  Miss Orris was formed from the root as it was curing in preparation for distillation for perfume.  The orris root is used in perfumes after drying and curing for up to five years.  It has a woody, violet like scent.  I use it in my natural hand made soaps.  It is also used in Morrocan cooking.  It has a raspberry-like flavor. 

She is the 4th in my Wild Caught Faerie series.  Although she appears to be locked up in her cage you should know that I would never be so cruel.  Those cage bars are no match for her faerie magic.  She could escape the cage at any time.  The bars are more symbolic of her trapped status.  You see, Miss Orris Ruth came out to play while her flower was in full bloom but neglected to get back into the bulb before the blossom faded and so, she is trapped, stuck here in our realm until her flower comes into bloom again next year.  

Orris Ruth is 2 3/4" tall when seated.  She is hand scuplted of polymer clay over a wire armature.  He tulle gown is hand sewn directly to her body.  Her hair is hand, dyed, Tibetan mohair which I applied directly to her scalp, her feather wings were also hand dyed to match her hair and the blossom from which she sprung from. 

The cage is manufactured but I distressed and patinaed it to give it a bit of old world charm.  She can be removed from her cage.  her arms can be repositioned.  The rest of her body is sculpted in a fixed pose.  

What's on my work bench?

Why a purple faerie WIP, of couse!

She is just 2 3/4" tall when seated.  She is a member of my Wild Caught Faerie Clan. 

I promise to post more pic's as she progresses along.  I will also try to get more information about her and her particular species.  I believe that she is a flower faerie, possibly related to the Begonia family or perhaps the Irises???  Some sort of bulb or tuberous flora is certain but, sometimes these little ones are very hard to understand.  They communicate at such high frequencies that sometimes it is down right painful to be in their presence!

Anyhow, here she is.  Please indulge her a bit.  She has been quite pampered, as she was born and raised in a comfy flower bed, and is quite used to being tended to regularly!

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Paint in progress