I joined another online class--making art dolls!

I am a member of several Ning groups and on one I found a class to learn how to make these really cute prayer dolls.  They are hand made out of Sculpey and then painted with acrylics.  So, I trundled myself off to Hobby Lobby and bought a big block of Sculpey and today I made these!

I still need to paint them, but they were so much fun to make.  I can't wait to make more.  I know, I know.  I still need to finish my painting and I will, but this is such a lovely diversion.

Life keeps getting in my way!

I have been slowly working on my faces, but I can't say I am moving very fast.  Life keeps interrupting me.  My neice was ill for while and we were all concerned about her welfare; my job has just been murder with flip-flopping shifts and meetings, meetings, meetings.  I am just about to pull my hair out.

Tomorrow is my next to the last pottery class and I don't feel like I have learned enough to be through with this.  I will try to hang on and then take a hand building class, so I can feel like I have given this a real try.

The little work I have done on art has been on my faces, so here is where I am today.  I hope to be able to complete these faces soon and begin on the pastel of the poppies and my portrait of Satchmo.

I missed my pottery class, AGAIN!

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday I was to go to my pottery class and I really did intend to go.  My niece is having a bit of a crisis right now and I got tied up talking to her on the phone.  Then my youngest daughter called and wanted to know what was going on with her cousin.  By the time I got off the phone, I was going to be late--but I got in the car and started driving to class anyway.  Halfway there, I realized that I had forgotten to pick up the DVD I needed to return to my friend, Andy, at class.  Oh well, there is always next week.

So I finally got there and was 45 minutes late.  As I got out of the car, I realized that I had also forgotten my towel, apron and tools.  Great!  At that point, I decided that someone was telling me not to go to class.  I got back into my car and went home. 

I really like this class even though I am no good at it.  I want to learn how to do this, so what is the problem?  I really don't know.  I love playing in mud and making mud pies, so that's not it.  I know I am not good at this, but I am learning and that's okay.  I don't know what the deal is.

Next week I will make myself go.  I will have to figure out what my problem is and deal with it.  In the meantime, I will work on my pictures and try to finish one of them.

Happy Easter Bunnies

Here's a quick Easter activity you can do with your children to decorate their bedroom doors.  Make these cute Easter Bunny Door Hangers out of craft foam.  These should only take a short time to make and the kids will get a big kick out of making their own decorations.

Here's where I found this guide

Happy Bunnies

Supplies:

Printable Happy Easter Bunny Pattern
White craft foam (you can use cardboard instead)
Chenille Stems (2 colour of choice)
Scrap ribbon piece for bow (you can paint this instead)
Pencil crayons (markers work too, but I like the pencils better)
Permanent Marker or paint pen
Tacky glue

Happy Easter Bunnies

How to:

Print out the full-size bunny pattern and trace it onto a sheet of white craft foam (or cardboard) and cut around outside lines.

Using a coloured pencil, tilted to the side slightly with the point of the pencil facing away from the foam piece, colour the perimeter of the pattern pieces. Refer to photo. The pencils create a nice shading effect, where as markers will be a little more defined.

Following the lines on the pattern, shade the circles around the bunny's feet, tummy and ears with the same colour as used on the perimeter of the bunny. To paint the bunny's face, use a black permanent marker and a red pencil to shade the rosy cheeks. Using a green pencil draw little lines at the bottom of the bunny for a little grass. Tie a bow with a scrap ribbon piece and glue in place at the bunny's neck.

Refer to the photo often for colouring and details. Using a permanent marker write "Happy Easter" across the ribbon banner. Poke holes where indicated on the banner and on the bunny. I used a sharp toothpick for this. Chenille stems can poke the holes, but it is a little more difficult. You don't need a large hole, just toothpick size.

Twist one chenille stem around a pencil to create a swirl and insert the ends into the top of the ribbon banner. Insert just enough to be able to twist the chenille stem up to secure in place (about 1/2 inch). Cut a second chenille stem in thirds and wrap two pieces around a pencil to create a swirl. Insert one end of one piece of the twisted chenille stem, into the ribbon banner and the other end into the bunny ear hole. Fold the stem up to secure. Repeat for second hanger on bunny ear.

Sign your name on the back with a pen or marker and Happy Easter!

Related articles by Zemanta

• No Chocolate Bunnies for Dogs! (timesunion.com)
• Sock Hop: An Adorable Bunny Craft for Easter! (susanheim.blogspot.com)
• Inspiring Egg Decorating Techniques (organizeyourstuffnow.com)

More work on my faces

I worked a bit more on my faces and wanted to share the outcome.  I like that by posting pictures, I have a concrete way to see progress.  It is easy to forget what you did and when you did it, so this really helps me stay on top of my goals.  I am really liking this particular piece, even if it is just for practice.  I can see several places that need changes and  I still need to do the detail work on each face, but I am holding off until I get all 5 faces with the initial layers.  Once that is done, I plan to work on each face individually to add the finishing touches and then to work on the piece as a whole to unify it and make it all work together.

I am also still working on my dark-skinned face, but I am in the stage where I have to look at it for a while to decide what I do like and what still needs to be done.  I hate that I have to think so much when I paint, but that is how I am so I'll just go with it.

I am also in the mood to make more art dolls with paper clay now that I am taking the pottery class.  I really like the feel of making something with my hands--taking a lump and turning it into something else.

I am still working on the portrait of my dog, Satchmo, also.  I will show you my progress soon!

I found another wonderful artist I'd like to share with you

I was surfing the net, as is my custom, late last evening and I came across the most wonderful art dolls.  I am truly in love.  These little babies are so cute and full of innocence.  Just looking at them makes you smile.
This artist, Gina Gabriel, has a shop in Dublin, CA called Tangerine where she sells her beautiful wares as well as a collection of other artists beautiful things. 

I found her on a website called ElevenMorning, but then moved to her blogs and her Etsy site to see all the wonderous things there.  Here are just a few of the Art Dolls that you will see when you visit her site:

Aren't these just too cute and don't you just smile to yourself when you see them?  I hope you will visit her and let her know that I sent you, won't you?

Some new work started!

I had my pottery class this week and I have to say that I am getting better.  I actually pulled two pieces without any help and I even like them.  I also got to clean up and sand my other pieces to prepare them for glazing next week.  You should have seen me when I left there.  I was absolutely covered in clay.  I don't know if I am the messiest potter in the world, or if that simply is how you do it.

I also worked on another of my faces that I am doing for practice, and I like it quite a bit.  I am trying to get five faces started, then I will go back and rework each separately to add detail and definition.  I am trying to figure out what to do with the background, too, since I did not paint it first.  Oh, well.  Live and learn is fast becoming my motto.

Here are two more pictures I am starting.  The first will be another pastel of poppies.  It is very small and will have a diffuse and mottled background with only these flowers in the foreground having definition.  The second is a picture of my dog, Satchmo.  I found a great video on YouTube so I thought I would try her way of painting a pet portrait.




 







Here's the video: