More on Red Riding Hood

Still pretty hot and humid here in Toronto and it's raining today but I've taken a few days off for an extra long weekend to play in my studio and continue working on Red.
I've wrapped her body up in quilt batting and have wrapped that again with some cheesecloth.

Now I'm going through my fabric and leather stash to look for appropriate costume materials.

 I seem to be having a bad day though, with my laundry getting stuck in the washing machine and having to call the repair man. Things just aren't going my way. I may have to set her aside and continue tomorrow. I don't want to break something! YIKES!

More on Red

Between work and the other bits of my life creeping in, it's been a busy week but I managed to squeeze in some time to get her bust and shoulders done, and some forearms. The bust looks small in this pic, think it's the angle. It's waif like, but not undersized.

Tonight I worked on her hands again, first two attempts.... too big, too small, more like a story of the three bears than little red riding hood, but finally I think I got them just the right size.
I then attached and blended them into the forearms and baked them. I find it easier to bake a forearm and then add a hand, other wise while I work on the hand the arms get soft and wobbly. This way I have a nice strong arm I can attach a hand to and get the movement at the wrist that I want.

I have feet waiting in the wings, but first I had to find the pose. You can't have flat feet on a moving pose it just looks weird.  I also will need to figure out what kind of base I want to use before I bake said feet. I might need to insert a brass rod. Well, I will most likely need to insert a brass rod, so I have one taped on for sturdiness in my armature until I decide what I want to use for a base. I just need to figure out what I'm going to do yet. But at least I can move on to the armature for the body and legs to find the pose.

hmm... do I have it yet? Not sure.  

Gotta find what I want for to use for my base. 

I think I needs to be a dirt path. 

But I must find some wood that will work and drill some holes for her armature.

Davy's Secret: The Hair Episode

Ok, finally got down to getting this post up. I've been working on Davy's hair. I've once again used apoxie sculpt, setting it down in layers. I'll need to clean it up a bit with a knife when it's completely set up. I like the gray, so I'll keep it. Looks more like Sam Elliott now, who I was thinking of when I sculpted the head.
I'll add a wash of black and blue to give it some depth and then maybe a coat of light gray. We'll see.

Davy's Secret WIP continues

It's been a while since I posted, a lot can happen in a month. Unfortunately not for Davy. He does have his Kraaken companion finished though. I'll work on his hair today after I get my laundry done and maybe a long walk in the park.
My Canada Day long weekend starts today and I'm still undecided about going up to my sisters cottage or staying home to play. It's been a while since I played in my studio and I'm kind of looking forward to some one-on-one time with my clay. Nothing makes me feel more energized than a good day in the studio!

Davy's Busy Day More WIP

After the undercoat of navy, I've built up a green layer, looks kind of algae like now.  Actually the real thing looks better than the photos. This is  many slow layers of paint, and sponging away. It builds up in some spots more than others and gives it a more natural ageing appearance. Of course then I have to go back and shine up the bits I want to glimmer, like some gems and coins and pearls. It's looking better now, not so souvenir shoppy with all the shells. More old and undersea crusted like I imagined.
 As I said, not so much so in the photos.

Here you can see that I have to prop up my tentacles as I attach them to the head of the Kraaken. I decided to give them a quick and dirty under paint before attaching them because there would be no way I could do them justice once attached. That way I just need to paint the attachment bits and the head and touch up the tentacley bits once I get the head of the Kraaken underway.

I must say it's been a rather full day with this one. Only a short break for lunch, dinner and a sip or two of my favourite vintage before I was off and at 'em again. I'll let the piece set up over night and get cracken on the rest of my Kraaken... snort... I know... but come on who could resist the pun!

Making your work stand out is an artists responsibility

It's too true, and so many questions about success are answered by the very simple phrase  "A picture tells a thousand tales". 

I've been struggling with photographing my work since I started selling my work on line. I've bought several cameras, took classes and tried different lighting. Knowing that the picture is the first impression when selling online is key to your success and it's a lesson I'm still struggling with. You can write great copy and promote like crazy but remember your online buyer can't pick up your item or look closer so you need to tell the tale with pictures. GREAT PICTURES! Pictures that make you want to click through and look closer and hopefully be so entranced that they will buy your creation.

So, in an effort to knock down that final hurdle to success, I finally consulted with, lucky for me, a truly wonderful photographer. I think he took pity on me and my dollies and graciously agreed to take pictures of some of them for me. I've shared some of his work in my post yesterday but I want to share them all. Everyone of them is a treat for me! They make me take great pride in my work. They are crisp and clean and amazing. They make me shake my head and say wow! I did that? That's my creation? 

I take photos along the way as I make a doll, it documents my process so I can share them with your but when it comes to the final finished photos? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words. 

Ron's Tips: 

"Using proper camera and lighting for portraiture, in this case for documenting different perspectives and details of dolls, is important in order to market the artist's work and relay their vision. Today anyone can easily take a picture, but very few pictures are photographs worth noting. The artist's responsibility is to make their work stand out from others and good photography does just that. If one takes great pride in their work, then it goes that one should take the necessary strides to market that work to potential buyers with beautiful imagery, and beautiful imagery sells."

The following photos are from Ron Jocsak's websites you really must visit to see the spectacular images! Please respect his copyright and do not remove his watermark or reuse the images in any way.

Portraiture http://www.ronjocsakportraits.com

A portrait is about capturing the character or spirit of individuals, which is why having a portrait taken should feel like the most natural thing to do... the result is often extraordinary! I provide portrait photography for home pages, magazines, brochures, corporate websites, families, and special events. My clients receive the portraits in digital format for print and web, and I can deliver print for archive and/or framing as well.
In Business ... "a great corporate portrait is important... it relays confidence and trust, demonstrates approachability, communicates professionalism and expertise, and contributes to brand recognition that translates into sales".
For Personal and Family ... "creative family and individual portraits capture important milestones in people's lives that may never occur again. New arrivals, special occasions, candid moments and group gatherings offer wonderful opportunities to delight in, and later, to reflect back on these special times".

Interpretative Fine Art and Contemporary Landscape http://www.ronjocsakphoto.com

My photography is characterized by simplicity, and clear, uncluttered images.

Nature, with all it's inherent beauty, has always influenced my life. I have unique perspective and understanding of our planet's geography, geology, and geomorphology, having been a petroleum geologist for nearly 25 years. My geologic passion fostered my passion for photography early on and I continue to hone my skill set and vision as a professional photographer. My interpretative fine art and contemporary landscape imagery has evolved through an appetite to explore and document striking landforms, textures, earth tones and ambient light. It is an expression of my respect and love at the land-water-atmosphere interface.

My art can be captivating, symbolic and unique. Nature constantly provides new material for my creative thinking and inspiration. It is always slowly evolving and changing... in a manner not too different for the change and adaptation required in the human process.

Murple Puppet Project Part Six

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of how I did these steps...

I sewed on Murples Feathery hair with a couching stitch (you come out from inside the puppets head where you want the hair to start, then come out and over the feathers and back into the head and out the other side you keep doing this until you have captured all the feather boas core, but be careful you don't catch up too many of the fluffy feathers... try to pull them out form under the thread as you go.)

Then I decided Murple needed a nose and ears. For the nose I cut out an egg shape out of felt pinched it together a bit at the small end and sewed it in place between the eyes. the whole nose isn't sewn down. I wanted it to stick up a bit.

For the ears, I cut out an oval and cut it in half. I then folded ear flat side into a little "w" shape and stitched them in place, then stitched them onto the puppet just below ans slightly behind each head dart.

I also decided Murple needed to have tonsils and a tongue so I cut out those from a deep red felt and slightly clued those onto her black mouth.

One last thing I did was add a line of black on her lower eyelids with a sharpie. I really wanted it to look like Murple had bags under it's eyes. hee, hee.

And that's Murple! Now make up a story for your own puppet. Murple is off to an all-night Karaoke bar to show off his lovely singing voice. Too bad all those late nights have him developing a slight tick under his right eye... Makes him look a little crazy when he gets on the subway after his late night.

HAVE A BLAST!!!