Day #6 - Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams Book Tour

Okay are you sure you're comfy? Make sure you have a nice cup of tea or if you're lucky enough perhaps a cup of my favourite cup of Tim Horton's  and be sure to read right to the end of this post so you catch all the bits about the great prizes up for grabs on this tour!

About the book I was delighted when Kerin invited me be part of her wonderful book Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams. She has included my Reluctant Prince in her wonderful book on using resin clay.

Her book is a wonderful resource for all those who have been curious about using this wonderful medium in their work.

Resin clay has amazing properties. It sets up quickly, I smooth it with water, drill it, sand it, add colour to it or paint it I also use it like you would use grout!

It's even super tool around the house!

Inspired Remnants Curious Dreams can open up your world to new ideas! Both the book and the materials she uses should be part of every multi-media artists studio. Easy to follow project instruction will inspire you!

Books and Workshop Deals If you haven't already purchased the book or have wanted to take one of Kerin's terrific workshops she has them in her etsy shop.

You can get both the Resin Clay Pendants Workshop and the Book for $35.00 + shipping. Or Vintage Gentleman Workshop + Book or maybe  Both Workshops + the Book

Be sure to send a note to Kerin when you check out with Paypal, tell her you heard about this offer on littlebitwired's blog and she'll give you $5.00 back.

My Product Tips My favourite resin clay is Aves Apoxie Sculpt and I buy it locally in Toronto from Sculpture Supply Canada and  Curry's art store.

It has a bit of a smell, kind of like stinky feet but not that unpleasant... LOL
It can be difficult to remove from your fingers though so I keep a scrubby and warm water handy in a little plastic bowl. I also make sure I clean any material from under my nails as soon as possible.  Of course you can use gloves but I prefer to feel the clay when I sculpt.
I also find there is a certain point when it is very sticky, which is also a good time to use a touch of water, or just leave the clay for about ten minutes until the sticky stage passes. You can add it to a sculpture that already as been baked or even before it goes in the oven.

Sometimes it can droop a little, plan ahead! It's easy to work in stages or construct parts separately and put them together with apoxie sculpt when the difficult bits have cured. Follow my blog post during February and March of this year for my work in progress posts on my Dark Warrior Angel 'Elena' and see how I did this with her gorgeous boots! 


I use Aves Apoxie Sculpt to set my armatures into their poses, create bases and props, and even sculpt with it!

How I use Apoxie in my work

Dryad Barbie was the result
of my first experiment
with Aves Apoxie Sculpt.


Here's a sample of some of the dolls I make visit my etsy Art Doll shop to see more of my dolls, puppets and patterns and be sure and stop by my LittleBitWired shop to see some of the other things I do and some great sale items! discovered Apoxie Sculpt at the Creative Festival in Toronto one year. The next day I started playing with it and my adventure with Barbie began. With the help of the apoxie sculpt resin my Dryad was firmly fixed to her base.

Peep is an egg gourd with wire
and apoxie sculpt.
See him in my etsy shop.

Apoxie and gourds are wonderful things!

Setting the joints in place with apoxie to hold
the dolls pose.

I use apoxie to strengthen my armatures. It keeps the wires together and maintains the pose for dolls that need to stand on their own.  

I use it to make the feet of my dolls too. The weight of the apoxie helps keep a figure standing without a base.

A simple brass tube can also be wired and fixed in place to insert a  figure into a base with a post set into a base so the figure can be mounted on it through the brass tube.

It works wonderfully to add to a base or to create props like canes, tree stumps, rocks and cobblestones. With the addition of acrylic paints, glazes and little bits of nature stuck into it you can make your bases into realistic settings for your figures.

Apoxie Base detail for Reluctant Prince from
Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams
(the base not shown in the book, but is worth a look).

Charlie Chaplin was a one of a kind commission
featuring apoxie over a wood base, apoxie hands
and shoes.

My elderly Satyr has apoxie feet base and cane. I'll have more on Ron Jocsak's photography tomorrow.

I've also used it to embed things like mosaic and the apoxie can be tinted with acrylics or dyes while mixing or before applying your mosaic tiles. It can be stamped into and with powders or paints the textures can really pop!

Journal cover for Travelling Doll Project 2010

Apoxie covers this chair armature and creates a wonderful work of art! 

I also sculpt figures with it. My Reluctant Prince was in Kerin's Book.

More on Ron Jocsak's photography tomorrow.

My Dragon Girl Amelie uses several different technique using Apoxie Sculpt.

More on Ron Jocsak's photography tomorrow.

Apoxie can be applied to anything to create wonderful boots and shoes. The boots for my Angel Warrior were built in stages, the heel was added to the sole and the boot uppers were built up into fabulous boots!

Elena my Angel Warrior was based on a book cover by Nalini Singh.
She uses apoxie in her armature her wings armature, sculpted upper body,
arms, handsand of course her fabulous boots. She's brand new in my
etsy shop today. More on the wonderful photography in tomorrow's post.

My Ent was also made with apoxie, head and hands were sculpted with it and pine cones were attached with apoxie. 

Kerin has organized a whopping 108 prizes for this blog hopping book tour!

Just leave a comment on my blog post for an entry to win and at the end of the tour I'll be picking six lucky winners for one of the following prizes!*
When you leave your comment just say where you posted (facebook, twitter, your blog, etc.) Each post is worth one entry in my drawing!
Prize drawing extended to May 26, 2011. (Please be sure your blog profile has an email address where I can contact you if you win. You don't have to post it here for security's sake, If in doubt try contacting me through my etsy page.)

1. Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams Book
2. One Aves Power Pack (selection of their most popular formulas) from http://AvesStudio.com
3. Fluid Chalks Online Workshop by Lesley Venable on her The Art Of Altering site which features many other awesome online workshops http://theartofaltering.ning.com/group/fluidchalksbackgroundsbeyond
4. Two Digital Collage Sheets by Alicia Caudle of Altered Bits. You can see her very unique and cool collection at http://alteredbits.com/digital-collage-sheets.php
5. Sample pack of Silputty 40 silicone putty mold mix from Silpak. This is the formula Kerin recommend in the book that has the longer cure time. 6. 1 OZ ICE Resin and a mixed metal bezel from http://www.iceresin.com/

But wait there is even more!!!!

7 Grand Prizes For Book Reviews*

Write your own review of the book! Any reader that writes a review ~ however short or long~ of Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams on amazon.com or amazon.ca or amazon.co.uk before July 31, 2011 and sends an email with the title “Inspired Remnants Review” to remnants.art@gmail.com will be entered in a drawing to win one of these prizes. 
Please note that your honest opinion is wanted on this review.

A) The art piece featured on the cover of the book, “Sacred Totem”
B) Power Pack plus extra Fixit Sculpt clay from Aves Studio http://avesstudios.com/
C) Frozen Charlotte Doll with digital tutorial “How To Crackle Charlottes” from Alicia Caudle of http://alteredbits.com
D) Resin Clay Pendants online workshop by Kerin Gale from http://MixedMediaArt.ning.com
E) Vintage Gentleman online workshop by Kerin Gale from http://MixedMediaArt.ning.com
F) Choice of any one workshop being taught by Kerin and Charley at Art Is You retreat in Petaluma, CA. The registration fee and workshop cost are both waived. http://www.art-is-you.com/mysitecaddy/site3/generalinformation-westcoast.htm
G) One copy each of Jen Cushman's book, Explore, Create, Resinate and Susan Lenart-Kazmer's book, Making Connections plus ICE Resin and a selection of bezels all from http://www.iceresin.com/
Here are the rest of the tour stops be sure to stop by each day:  

May 7 

Jen Cushman, ICE Queen Zine  
 http://www.iceresin.com/category/inspired-remnants-blog-tour/

May 8  Happy Mother’s Day

May 9   

Beth Robinson, Strange Dolls 

http://strangedolls.wordpress.com/

May 10   

Brenda Schweder, Brenda Schweder Jewelry  

http://www.brendaschweder.com/

May 11 

Esther Verschoor, Vanessie Art Dolls  

 http://vanessies.blogspot.com

May 12 

Kecia Deveny, Lemoncholy’s Flight of Fancy

http://www.lemoncholys.blogspot.com/

May 13   

Rachel Whetzel, A Year In The Life Of An Art Journal 

http://oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com/

May 14   

Shannon LeVart, MissFickleMedia.com  

http://missficklemediacom.blogspot.com/

May 15   

Marlaine Verhelst, Marlaine Verhelst Art Dolls 

http://marlaineverhelst.com/blog/

May 16  

 Lisa Jurist, Mud Hound Studio 

http://mudhoundprimitives.blogspot.com/

May 17   

Michelle Bernard, Yesterday’s Trash 

http://michellereneebernard.blogspot.com/

May 18 

Kerin Gale, Remnants of Olde – Alan Rogerson feature 

http://RemnantsOfOlde.com/posts

May 19 Facebook Party! 

Apoxie Clay & Epoxy Clays Page

https://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_15815967756276

* Please note SOME prizes include shipping to U.S. addresses only.

ah, ha

You've read to the very end of my blog post so a special treat for you!

Here's a little photo demonstration of how I make my own buttons with Apoxie Sculpt.
Leave a comment about the buttons for your chance to win the six buttons shown.

Each button is about 3/4" wide.

 

 Hope you enjoyed today's spot on the
Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams Book Blog Tour!

Good Luck on the Prize Draws!