Redwood Coast Creative Arts

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!

The Making of a Mystical Being

I have just begun working on a new sculpture.  I am still at the very begining stages with just a lump of conditioned clay and delusions of grandeur.

Follow me along on my journey if you are interested in seeing the twists and turns my characters can take on throughout the sculpting "birthing" process. 

As I move the clay around first with rote technique and then with subtle intuition as the clay comes to life as a "Mystical Being" with a voice, a history, and a soul.

Sometimes the story is revealed to me immediately.  Other times it slowly evoles and even takes place as I manipulate the clay.  Either way, the process can not be rushed or hurried along.  From mixing the custom skin tones to placing the features on the face each step along the way slowly evolves and is birthed after just the right gestational period.

Phase I:  It all begins with the clay

I always start my characters by conditioning and custom mixing very large batches of polymer clay.  This is a mixture of several brands (Fimo, Cernit, Kato, Sculpey) of clay in many different flesh-like tones.  Some of the clay is old, dry and crumbly (actually, all of it is at least 6 years old), and some of it is soft a squooshy (even though it has been sitting on my shelf for years).

I bigin by cutting all of my clay into uniform chunks.  It's just like preping for stir fry!  The blade I use is called a tissue blade.  It is very sharp and very thin.  It is used by scientist to cut thin slices of tissue in order to examine under a microscope.

I put the chunks into a food processor that is dedicated to polymer clay.  Once a food processor is used for polymer you can never completely clean all of the residue off so, it is no longer good for use with food.  Truth be told, it probably wouldn't kill you but, it isn't very appetizing either. 

The clay gets whizzed around into a gravel like mixture.  I store it in a zip lock back to keep it clean, free of dust and debris.  It will not dry out like Earth clays.  Polymer is  a PVC based, maleable plastic.  It does not contain any water so, I do not need to worry about my storage methods being airtight.  It will keep for years or even decades as long as it is stored in a cool place.  A lot of my clay is more than 10 years old so, I think that my art studio is kinda cool!  :)

After the food processor ride I roll my clay out, first with a rolling pin and then with my polymer clay D.R.E.A.M. Machine, a polymer dedicated pasta machine will work as well.  What this does is it mixes the various clay particles of all different formulas and colors into a homogenous and uniform slab of clay.  Polymer clay that is not sufficiently conditioned will not cure properly.  The result can be a finished piece that is fragile, brittle, cracked, pitted, or bubbled.  Here I have 3.5 pounds of conditioned clay to work with.

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!

Profile

Front                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Back

Paint in progress

 

I Caught a Tiny Wild Faerie in my Garden

Wild Caught Faerie

My Wild caught faerie is 2 inches tall when seated, hand sculpted of polymer clay.  She has acrylic fur hair, acrylic "make-up, and natural fiber clothing painrd with acrylics.  She sits on a bed of soft, Spanish moss and her cage is manufactured.

Don't worry, She is only here as long as she wants to be.  Bars are no match for faerie magic.  Should she choose to fly off she easily could do so.  I will just enjoy her while it lasts.  I hope that you do too!

Little Miss Moss Bit. She is a wild caught faerie. The tiniest of all of the wild caught faeries. She lives in the forest in a home made of rotten redwoods and mushrooms. She has a pet honey bee and feeds on honeycomb and lichen.

 

Magdalena de Barcelona- Sugar Skull Spanish Dancer

Meet Magdalena, my Sugar Skull Spanish Dancer

Magdalena is a one of a kind, original art doll.  She is all hand sculpted and fully articulate.  Her head, arms, legs, and shoes are polymer clay.  Her body is built anatomically with wire and bamboo "bones", masking tape and aluminum foil "connective tissue", polyester batting "flesh", and fabric "skin".  Her dress is an original design, created and sewn specifically for her body and pose.  Her hair is Tibetak lambs wool face, shoes, and limbs were painted with acrylic paint.  

Magdalena is on exhibit at Think House Collective in Sacramento, in the VOX exhibit for the month of October.  After the exhibit she will be available for sale.  $1250.00  Contact me if you are interested

 

and the votes are in...............................

Gary Everett's rendition of Agaricus Bisporus won the First place prize in the professional category. It was very high in the people's choice award as well.

This has been a great honor to me.  I just love seeing her out in the world, in a new environment, following her own destiny, and making her own life apart from what I have given her!  I really love her fuzzy, little bee friends too!

Rendition of Agaricus Bisporus, my Mushroom Maiden by sidewalk chalk artist Gary Everett

I have been honored and flaterred by sidewalk chalk artist Gary Everett who has been inspired to creat a rendition of Agaricus Bisporus, my Mushroom Maiden, in chalk for the OakRidge Tennessee Chalk festival. 

Gary is an award winningchalk artist.  This will be his 7th festival and this year he was awarded first place in the adult category in the Knoxville Dogwood Arts Festival Chalk Walk.

The theme of the over all piece is "Help Our Bees, When They Are gone So Are We"  It contains Agaricus Bisporus with three bees and flowers. It will be a 5 ft by 5 ft study inside a 6 ft by 6 ft area with the theme title around the out side.

What a thrill!  I am honored that Gary was inspired by my Mushroom Maiden.  I think That his rendition is charming and quite appropriate.  You see I sculpted her to look as if she is in a meadow enjoying the scenery and the fresh outdoor air.  She is pleased to be hanging out with the flowers and the bees!

Here are the results of the first day's work.  I will post the final piece later in the week.