Exciting News!

I have some exciting news to share: my two little sculptures have been accepted into the Newport Beach Art Exhibition! They will be on display there from 1pm-6pm on Saturday, June 13th, so if any of my readers are in the area and would like to see them in person, please stop by!

For everyone else, here's one more look at the sculptures:

I'm working on another boy doll and another girl doll to test the crochet patterns, which I may then post to Etsy and Raverly.

Also, check out my fancy new business cards, which I had printed last weekend so they are ready to go sit next to my sculptures at the exhibition!

The judges will choose their favorites in the morning, then there will be a fun afternoon of snacking and talking to other artists and art admirers while watching the awards. I can't wait!

Wish me luck, I'll see you next week!

Sculpture 2: Part 2

My little guy is slowly coming along! I still have a long way to go before he's finished, but at least now his torso is complete and he has one cute little knobby knee! 

His house was what I really spent my time on this week. First, I started painting it "Empire Gold." After the first coat I decided the walls needed more texture, since I was trying to give them a stucco-like appearance. I crinkled up a piece of tissue paper and wrapped it around the house like so:

When I painted over the tissue paper, the texture looked much better.

The roof was the part that took the most time. I wanted to make a clay tile roof and decided to use bubble tea straws for the tiles. I had a packet of straws, so I took some and cut them in half lengthwise, then I cut along the length to make short tiles. I glued them to the roof so that they overlap like real roof tiles.

After the glue had dried, I mixed a few drops of black paint in with red to make the color resemble terra-cotta. (It looks much brighter in this picture than in person.)

 Don't worry, I haven't forgotten windows and doors on the house, this is just as far as I've gotten this week!

Keep following your dreams and I'll see you next week!

Sculpture 2: Part 1

My next sculpture for the Newport Beach Art Exhibition has begun! For this one I have decided to make a boy doll, and he is going to be sitting on top of a house. Everything is still pretty much in "sneak-preview" mode right now.

Here is my doll so far. I still have a lot of crocheting to do, his arms and legs don't even have any skin yet!

This is what he looked like last week, just a head and skeleton.

I made the house out of a couple styrofoam pieces...

...then added a layer of paper maché.

This is what happened when I ran out of paper and switched to the newspaper adds. Don't worry, everything will look better with paint!

I'm excited to see how this new sculpture turns out. If you are too, keep checking back next Wednesday. And don't forget to keep following your own creative dreams!

My 1st Sculpture for the Newport Beach Art Exhibition is Done!

Thank you all for staying with me during all the weeks of watching this project slowly take form. Well, I hope you think it has paid off, because my crochet and papier-mâché sculpture is finally finished!

And a back view...

I have decided to try and do a second sculpture before the deadline in May, so I'll be showing you updates on that very soon! I'll let you know how both sculptures do at the exhibition, too. Keep following your dreams until next week!

Newport Beach Art Exhibition Entry: Part 3

My sculpture for the Newport Beach Art Exhibition is almost done! My little doll has changed a lot since you last saw her...

She now has a face, a dress, and I even gave her toes and thumbs! I attached her to the moon with a wire that I threaded through her leg and arm. Then I poked the ends of the wire into the moon with a tiny bit of glue to help everything stay put. This worked out really well because the wire doesn't show and I didn't have to put any glue on my doll!

Here is a close-up of her face. She has an embroidered nose, fabric lips, drawn-on eyebrows, artificial eyelashes trimmed down to size, and real blush on her cheeks!

I original made her with fabric eyes, but decided I like the sleeping look better. What do you think? (This picture was taken pre-eyebrows, too.)

Now I am working on a base that will keep the sculpture standing up. By next week it should be done and I will have a new project in the beginning stages to show you. Until then, keep dreaming!

Newport Beach Art Exhibition Entry: Part 2

My sculpture for the Newport Beach Art Exhibition has come a long way since I first showed it to you! I added a splotchy later of blue paint to give the color a little added depth. Next I evened it out with a very light coat of white.

Blue splotches

This is what the moon looks like now! Much better than when I first started it: 

Styrofoam Moon

What's even more exciting? My doll now has legs, arms, and hair! I hope that by next week she will have a dress and a face. Then I will need to figure out how to attach her to the moon and how I want to display the whole thing! I'm also batting around ideas for a second, similarly-themed sculpture for the exhibit, since every artist is allowed to contribute two pieces.

Don't worry, I will hide all the loose pieces that are showing right now!

I am excited to see how this project turns out and I hope you are too! Keep following your dreams and I'll see you next week!

My Entry for the Newport Beach Art Exhibition: Part 1

I recently recieved a call to artists for the annual Newport Beach Art Exhibition and decided to try a mixed-media sculpture to enter! My idea is to show dreamlike image of a young woman in pajamas (possibly with wings) sitting or standing on a crescent moon.

The project is a still in its beginning stages, but here is a sneak peak at what it looks like right now!

Here is the moon, carved from styrofoam, textured in paper maché, and with a coat of white paint. I may add some more color to it, but I haven't decided exactly what I want to do yet.

 

I put on one very rough layer of paper maché to give the moon texture, then a second much smoother layer to regularize the texture and make sure it didn't look like an accident!

And here is my character in her beginning stages. She is made of crochet thread around a wire armature to make her fully posable. I don't usually make dolls this small and this is the first time I have started one with a wire skeleton, so I am excited to see how she turns out!

                                  

So far I love the structure that the armature gives the doll. I think makes her feel a little more real. I also like how the armature acts as a 3-dimensional "sketch" of the doll's shape that I can trace as I crochet her outer skin. Creating a detailed face at this small scale may be a challenge. I have some ideas, though, which you will see soon! Keep following your dreams, I'll see you Wednesday!