Unusual Girl Studios

Going a week without posting....but I was wrong!  The problem is that while I have been working my patootie off on the big little lady there's just not much to show for it. Since you've seen her last she's gotten hair with stuff growing out of it.  I've had some metal garland for years (I'm a pack rat, thanks parents of that generation!)  and wove it in there along with some wired rope.  Then I decided I needed way more leaves so I went to the hardware and bought aluminum flashing and spent hours cutting out leaves.  I wasn't sure I even liked her "do" but its growing on me.  One thing was for sure I hated her hands.  More specifically how huge I had made them.  her delicate arms were attached to these huge clubs and I wasn't happy.  After all, I wanted her to have thin arms and a thin neck so it wasn't like I could make them bigger!  But- last week I did make those arms beefier and guess what?  She looks good.  Then I real...

I offer these two pictures as proof of life or existence of Sara Crewe; character doll for the storybook character challenge on Cloth and Clay dolls. You know, the one I'm hosting. Unfortunately, while other clever sculptors and doll artists have been astounding me with their talent- I, I have been blocked, stymied, unproductive and generally less than successful. But not unproductive as I have created head after doll head in attempt to recreate the Sara Crewe I see in my head. Apparently my head doesn't explain things well to my hands. Or my hands don't carry out direction well. Anyways, here is head number seven... attached to a body..... and thus it begins....the end to the madness... a clear (I hope) path to follow.

I'm at an awkward spot on the big little lady sculpture. (and yes, on other fronts, I haven't made a decision on a doll head but instead have made two more) I want to start working on the glass portion of her gown. Because--- it will be spectacular fun with amazing results! Or a complete disaster. Either way, the anticipation is killing me. But I can't start working on the glass until I have all sanding and messy stuff done. Who wants dusty glass, right? I must buckle down and do some hard things first. Like the hands. I don't know how to do hands of this size- haven't done it before. But I think...they should have some fair amount of detail and be somewhat realistic don't you? The fun part of sculpture is building the skeleton. Because--- it gets covered up in the end people don't know if you used wire and tape or tape and a milk jug to get the shape you wanted. There's green for you- reduce, re-use and re-cycle! When ever I paint I s...

For those of you who work in figurative sculpture, or are art doll makers, or just like to putz around in an artsy way this post is for you. If you don't fit into the categories above this post may just be a yawn. Sorry. The following is a comparison of my experiences using three different products. Paper mache`, Creative Paper Clay, and paper clay recipe. This picture is a good example of how I like to mix up my mediums. The round flower is Creative Paper Clay. The 3-petal blossom is made from the paper clay recipe found on line. Both of these flowers adhered quite well with out any glue to the paper mache` background. In my Cloth and Clay group I have a discussion going about a paper clay recipe vs. purchasing the manufactured paper clay. I wanted an alternative to the little bricks and my dependency on whether or not my local hobby stores would have it in stock or not. And, truthfully, at the time with a rather large sculpture in mind I knew I would eat through those...