Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary....

I have fallen in love with Mixed Media pieces!  They allow me to use a bit of THIS and a bit of THAT accumulated over the years in my studio.  Last week, after a visit to our local Farmer's Market such a piece was born. 

 I fell in love with these flowers.  The fuchsia pink with bold orange centers screamed to come home with me.  Come home with me they did, BUT (as we all know) cut flowers only stay with us for so long :-(  Why not extend their life with a custom piece of art??  An idea began to formulate in my mind (do you hear the cogs turning??)

I went first to the Delight Airdry modeling compound to create some beautiful flowers, just opening pods, and green leafy components.  I rolled a piece of the clay through my pasta machine to flatten (for those of you without a pasta machine, 2 Popsicle sticks and a rolling pin will work just as well).  Then I used teardrop shaped Kemper cutters (2 different sizes) to start my petals. 

To shape each petal I pinched the edges between my fingers to thin and then used a needle tool to create veining down the center of each.  As each petal was complete, I placed them next to each other on my work surface and the flower began to take shape.  **Please note: pinching the petals gently together or overlapping a bit will help your flower to stay together as you build.**

After one layer of petals was completed I began with a second and then a third (note: 3rd layer used a smaller teardrop cutter), stacking layers as they were completed.  A final touch for my flower reproduction was a vintage glass button pressed into the center.  Once completed, the flower was set aside to dry (about 24hrs). 
I began work on the pod in the same way, but with a much smaller teardrop cutter.  I created the leaves first, pinching and veining just as with the flower petals.  I then rolled a ball of Delight clay about 3/4" round.  The top edges were shaped and veined with the same needle tool until I was happy with the look.  The pod was then pressed into place on the leaf ruffle and set aside to dry with the flower.

 

What to do while waiting for the flower components to dry?  Why work on the canvas, of course!  I sponge painted the canvas using 2 or 3 different green acrylic paint colors.  I used the edge of the sponge brush to add some gold veining.  Never known for letting something be so simple/plain, I knew it needed something more.  Time to pull out the Paperclay!!

I recently purchased a Delta stencil (Checkerboard Medley) and knew that would add the perfect background for the flowers.  I mixed a bit of the Creative PaperClay with some water to make a soft paste.  With the stencil placed on top of the painted canvas the paste was smeared into the open spaces.  Be patient...a light touch will lead to less frustration than a heavy hand.  Work the palette knife back and forth scraping paste into and out of the stencil.  Add more paste as areas need it.  Once all open areas are filled the stencil can be removed to reveal a raised texture.  WAY COOL!!  (**please note: the stencil cannot be replaced once removed without much smearing!**)
Set canvas aside to dry.

Flash forward 24 hrs...
...the flowers have dried and now it is time to paint!  Painting the flowers tends to be a messy process.  Normally I use Pinata inks and rubbing alcohol for this, but I wanted the flower color to be a bit more intense.  In my box of inks I found my Color Box Crafter's Pigment Ink Refill in a gorgeous color called Peony.  I mixed a little of the ink refill with rubbing alcohol and began to paint.  Areas where the color was too harsh were softened by going back over it with a bit of plain rubbing alcohol.  During this process my layers began coming apart :-(  Bummer!  No worries...as each portion was painted they were put back together before drying.  Be sure all areas are painted: top and sides especially.  The bottom will be glued down to the canvas eventually, so it really doesn't need to be painted...just a time saving thought. 

 

The process was repeated for the green leafy pods using Color Box Ink Refill in "green".  As I looked at the color, it was a bit brighter than I wanted, so I mixed a bit of Pinata Color in "Burro Brown" and added that on top of the green.  The brown seemed to soften the bold green.  A few dots of "peony" ink refill placed directly onto the pod center finished the look.

Placing the flowers on top of the canvas I waited for it to "speak" to me...Please, do not call the white coats yet :-)  The canvas asked for a few things: something along the edge, wording, some additional texture, and a few polymer clay components (you didn't think I would get through a whole project with out at least one, did you??)

Back to the studio to search....
...where I found some beautiful decorative leaf components, multiple alphabet rubber stamp sets, and a FABULOUS Mrs. Grossman's metal "Fall Vines".  The vine edging was the perfect touch both in size and color!! 

Woohoo...I placed a few leaves behind the flower and placed the green pod in the corner...Hmmmm, something not quite right.  I added a few decorative leaf accents behind the flower...getting better, but still something not quite right.  Hmmmm, I think some words are needed.  To the clay and stamps I go....

Perfect.  But still something is not quite right.  I searched through my polymer clay components and found a beautiful butterfly and a flower.  I finally realized that as much as I like the painted leaf pod, it just wasn't working the way I wanted.  Remove the pod, add the butterfly and polymer clay flower, plus some more wording...FINALLY!!! 

Use tacky glue (I use "The Ultimate" from Crafter's Pick) to affix everything to the canvas (note: Vintage glass button made need to be attached with super glue rather than tacky glue).  Let dry, the hang and ENJOY.

Materials list:
Delight Air Dry Modeling compound, Creative PaperClay modeling material, Kemper cutters, stretched canvas, acrylic paints, Color Box ink refills, rubbing alcohol, Ancient page ink pad, Mrs. Grossman's "fall vines", Delta decorative stencil,  Crafter's Pick "The Ultimate"glue, palette knife, q-tips, small mixing cups, miscellaneous components

 

 

Creative Paperclay Art Dolls with a Twist

Hi all!  I have been busy at my clay table this week flowing with ideas after a class with the wonderful Polymer Clay artist Carol Simmons.  So while creating bracelets and earring components from my polymer clay canes I thought "Why not use the canes along with Paperclay in a design?"  I ran downstairs to the studio and pulled out my materials and began to create.

Materials:
Creative Paperclay
Art Doll mold (www.bestflexiblemolds.com)
polymer clay canes (polymercreations4u@msn.com)
glass tile
straight blade
parchment paper or deli wrap (plastic wrap or wax paper can be used, but may leave a texture behind)
optional: inks, paints, powders, heat set crystals, beads, odds & ends, PrismaColor markers

I began this project by making a few doll blanks out of Creative Paperclay.  Press a bit of clay into the art doll mold.

Slice off excess clay with a straight blade and then remove doll by flexing the mold (she should pop right out).  Smooth any wrinkles or crinkles on the surface with your finger, give her a softer curve to the waist, round out any rough edges, then place her on the glass tile.  If desired a face can be added to the doll using the same mold.  (Note: If the face doesn't want to adhere to the body a bit of water on the back of the face will act as "glue" OR it can be attached later with tacky glue)  Repeat process for additional dolls.

Being the impatient crafter that I am, I placed the glass tile in my oven and baked the dolls at 275 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.  Let cool.  Now the fun begins.

**If you are new to polymer clay, be sure to work on a glass surface, flexible cutting mat, or acrylic surface.  DO NOT work directly on your good wood table or the finish will be "eaten"off!**
Polymer clay canes come in many different shapes and patterns.  For this lesson I am using a square cane for its ease in matching designs.  Polymer clay canes can be found on a variety of online sites....or you can come straight to me :-)  You will need a clean straight edge blade for cutting  (Note: If this is the blade you used for cutting your Paperclay [as I did] just rinse any excess Paperclay off the blade and dry thoroughly before cutting your polymer clay cane).  Cut thin slices (number of slices will depend upon how large your cane is and how much of the art doll is covered).

 

  Once cut, place the slices side by side to form a sheet of patterned clay.  Cover with parchment paper and use your finger to rub over the seams, smoothing them together without disturbing the pattern or leaving fingerprints behind.  Remove parchment paper and check to see if all the seams have come together.  Use straight blade to remove clay from your work surface and place over baked Art Doll. 
Smooth the clay around form, pressing any air bubbles out from underneath as you go.  Once covered, carefully slice away excess clay (set aside for another use, if desired). 

Place Art Doll into the oven and bake at 275 degrees for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.

I decided that a crown/hair was in order.  I went to my stash of odds & ends and found the perfect piece: the flatten top off a Christmas ball!  A bit of super glue to hold it in place works perfectly.  the face can be left natural or colored with a bit of paint or alcohol ink or PrismaColor marker (Note: For this example I used the PrismaColor marker in Goldenrod).

Looking at the back (compared to the front) it looks very unfinished.  I have a couple of easy fixes for this: 1) Trace around the original art doll shape on a piece of scrapbook paper.  Cut out the shape and glue in place when the doll is completed.  OR 2) cover the back with a thin layer of polymer clay and rebake.  If using this choice, cover the back of the art doll with a bit of tacky glue BEFORE adding the clay backing...this will be much less frustrating than trying to affix the clay to bare Paperclay :-)

And you are finished!  That is unless you are a possessed artist like me.  If you fall into that category drill a couple of holes in the shoulder area and add beaded arms OR drill a hole at the bottom and add multiple fibers OR draw on a face (if you haven't used the face cabochon) OR....as you can see I can get a bit carried away! 

Have fun creating! And CLAY ON!!

Elphaba - Mixed Media Art Doll

 Hey Everybody, It's Edie,

On my personal blog I am doing a 31 Days of Halloween series. Today is  Day 15.
Today's post was two and a half months in the making, but I think it was well worth all of the time, effort, restarts, errors and triumphs! Elphaba is a 3ft tall mixed media art doll and she was inspired by the play "Wicked." You can view the full video walk through below.

 

She started as a wire armature covered in aluminum foil, then I sculpted her entire body using Creative Paperclay®. Her hair is individual sections of wool roving.

 

Her dress and hat are both handmade using fabric scraps, ribbon and lace. Her base was made using a wire armature, covered in masking tape, covered in Spackle, covered in MORE masking tape. I painted and stamped inside the base, then I added chipboard gears and stitched in the chipboard clock.

There is even a light up inside her base that shines down on everything inside.

The flying monkey is a hand sculpted polymer clay face with a Creative Paperclay® body.

The shoes are plastic cake toppers coated in fine, iridescent glitter.

 

The crystal ball is a clear glass Christmas ball that has been painted with layers of glaze and alcohol ink. The base was once a candle holder that I painted black, then I created the holder with an old earring.

The Grimmorie is a wooden block from a stamp that I covered in tissue paper and painted.

The green glass bottle was also painted with layers of glaze, then I added a glitter flourish and alcohol inks to distress it.

 

I am very proud of how she turned out. I never thought in a million years that *I* would be able to create something like this.
Elphaba is for sale, so if you are interested in purchasing her you can leave me a comment and I will get you my email address.