Yeti for SpookyPooky

This was a small hanging doll I did for a swap with the very awesome and talented Alexz aka SpookyPooky.  Seriously, go check her out. Her work is so adorable and she is constantly putting up new designs. She is obsessed with yetis and so I came up with this little guy. I bought a new book on fantasy polyclay sculpting and it has completely revamped my techniques.

Fairies Gnomes & Trolls: Create A Fantasy World in Polymer Clay by Maureen Carlson

I highly recommend it to everyone wanting to tackle the task of facial sculpting and expressions. It has done wonders for me! Every page was in full gorgeous color and the pictures are so vivid, making the instructions easy to follow.  

I was so proud of this yeti when he was completed. But I wasn't sad to send him away. He seemed to just be begging to be sent home to his yeti loving new friend. :)

Let me know what you think of him!

Belly Dancer Doll

As some of you know, I am a Craftster swapping ADDICT. Craftster is an amazing crafting forum that has done wonders for my art and inspires me everyday. One of the great features that the Craftster community has to offer are the Organized Craft Swaps. Nearly any theme you can think of and they are constantly changing. I treat these swaps as kind of assignments in the sort of art un-college of life that I am attending. I grade myself based on my partner's reaction when they receive their items. If I can manage to create a perfect gift for a total stranger, I have passed in my eyes. And as an added bonus on top of the proud validated feeling I get from a grateful partner gushing about how much they loved their package, I receive an amazing box of goodies that someone else has poured their heart into, working to fit my own tastes.Swapping has forced me to branch into different styles, techniques, and even mediums that if left to my own devices I would have never tried. 

Basically, it's the kick in the ass that a loony artsy slacker like me needs.

So all that being said, I would like to share with you the latest of my swap creations (latest in that my partner has received this one and it is now safe to post elsewhere on the interweb) my Belly Dancer Doll. 

 

She was created for my belly dance swap along with a matching burgundy hip scarf. The doll is sculpted from poly clay and stood about 6-7 inches tall. I had wanted to do something inspired by those dancing hula girl statues that have a movable piece around the waist, giving them a bit of a wiggle and a shimmy. I was disappointed that the covered ring of wire that I added the beaded fringe and chain to to was unable to move as freely as I would have liked. I first tried to attach the ring with a bit of clear elastic through a whole bore through her waist at the sides but that only allowed for a front to back tilt of her "hips" Not what I was looking for. I filled in the hole and attached eye pins to the front and back of her and to the ring itself. It gave a bit of wiggle but because she was so small the fringe just kinda tilted to one side (as you can see in the picture.)

Despite her inability to "dance" like I had in mind, I was still quite proud of her. Though since sculpting her a couple weeks ago, I have completely rethought my clay technique. I've been studying a new book about fantasy sculpting and it has taught me how to approach things like facial features with ease and detail. Just wait till you see the things I have created since this. Thanks for looking and let me know what ya think!

Altus Infinite the Gargoyle

I'd like to introduce you to my most recent doll. This fine fellow's name is Altus Infinite. He was a birthday present for my good friend. I started him only a week ago and he was officially finished on Friday. His whole body is painted six times over, making him a shelf doll not a snuggler. I'm quite impressed with his outcome. This was the first time I had ever included any polyclay detail on a doll and because of how good it turned out I can't wait to do it again. His plugs, horns, fangs and lip piercing were all clay and I don't think he would look as good if they weren't.

And now, some photos of the journey to create Altus

Shakespeare, anyone? Fun fact: Altus was made with one adult size medium gray T-shirt from my favorite local thrift store. His face was (quite poorly) scrawled on his head with marker and then stitched before he was painted.


Skip ahead a bit...This was two days into his creation. No arms and his head remains unattached. 'Nother fun fact: my dolls don't usually have heads until the very end, making dealing with and at times dressing their headless bodies a little unnerving.
His legs were difficult because they seemed to have a mind of their own as far as how they wanted to lay. Rest assured that at this point in the doll's construction I take the time to place the head on its spine stick and see how many times I can spin it. :)



Right after I fashioned the polyclay horns, I realized just how handy they were as a built-in stand. This is how the head was then stored from then on. You can also get a pretty good view of my awesomely sparkly clean desk surface.

Almost there...

The ears were quite a process. I had no clue how to achieve the shape I had in my sketch (which will be posted when I have my scanner set up again) and thus decided to just wing it. I think they kinda look like butterfly wings.

Piercing and gauging the ear

Just for funzies. I'm such a loon.

Kinda creepy and a little dull. This was just the first layer of pure acrylic gray paint. Not to worry, he got way shinier as time went by.

And the rest, folks, is history. What kind of a magician would I be if I gave away all my secrets? :)

The end.

My Nameless Nymph

For my first post of my art, I thought I would introduce my Nameless Nymph. I made her nearly three years ago from a tacky leafy shirt from the local thrift shop and she was the first of many of my odd and lovely doll designs. She's sort of become my muse since her creation. Her big black glassy eyes have become a staple of my dolls. It was during her process that I taught myself how to make these dolls. Her seams are shabby and her stuffing is uneven but she's beautiful. Her flaws are what taught me to become the artist I am today. She was an adventure to make and still inspires me. So now, for the first time, I'm sharing her : )
More current projects to come.