Category Archives: sculpture

the big fish

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This is the big fish I made for the exhibition last month. The gallery owner had asked me to make it and I thought it was a great idea. I love making things out of paper mache and any other materials I can get my hands on. And I love experimenting. And making something this size was a challenge.

I had made a life size bulldog a few years ago, but this is a totally different animal (haha). This is a link to the bulldog – unfortunately unfinished in this post…

Anyway, back to the fish. I’ll go through the process, which was all a bit hit and miss with a lot of learning in between. It took a while… not just the working but the drying…

I began with wire I’d gotten off old paper lanterns someone was throwing away. Recycling being the main aim.

I made the spine and ribs using the very hard wire, then wrapped it all in cardboard and masking tape. Lots and lots of masking tape.

I used cardboard to make the head and tail and moved on to paper mache using strips of newspaper, which is becoming a pretty scarce resource these days.

I had thought paper pulp would be the way to go so that the entire fish was recycled material, but the pulp was taking way too long to dry. And wouldn’t stick well either. Probably my own fault, I got the mix wrong… However, by the time I decided that it wasn’t going to work I’d already done the head and ribs on one side.

So I swapped to plaster. Using plaster bandages I coated the entire fish and that dried nice and fast and really hard, which was the most important part.

However the fish was getting really heavy and the spine was too flexible. Not good… I had to reinforce it somehow so that it would hold together well and not bend or crack.

I did what I always do: looked around me to see what I had that might work. I found an old piece of timber which was curved on one side. Perfect. I attached that to the fish going from the head all the way to the tail. I attached it using masking tape (the paper mache artists best friend!) and then plaster strips.

Of course I had to ‘blend’ the stick into the head and tail which I did using cardboard to create a curved look. And more tape and more plaster strips. It wasn’t totally realistic, but it did the trick.

In the end I wanted to give it a smooth finish (texture isn’t a good thing when something can collect dust) so I opted to finish the fish using air dry clay. I use air dry clay a lot to make small sculptures, and I knew i could make it work.

I love the way the fish turned out.

Would I do some things differently if I made one again? Yes, probably. I’d start with a stick for the spine and much harder material for the ribs… cut down bits of bamboo maybe, or dowel or whatever I can find. And attached using a drill and holes and glue… But not wire.

And yes, I will be making another. Soonish. It just takes time and I have so many other things I want to do, have to do, should do.

But I really enjoyed making it. Part of the work was done on my kitchen table when the weather was bad. Then when it got warmer I worked outdoors. The plaster work was all done outdoors. That stuff is MESSY.

Sorry about the pics that are vertical instead of landscape. Turns out WordPress won’t let me spin. I have to go back to the originals for that and I just want to get this posted. So there!

z

needle felting like crazy

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Lately it seems like all I want to do is curl up on the couch with my ‘work tray’ and coffee table and stab wool with sharp implements.

Maybe it’s because it’s been really cold and windy and not at all inviting out there…

Maybe its cause needle felting is a more immediate way to create sculptures – for instance, it’s so much quicker than papier mâché which needs to be done in stages with long periods of drying in between.

Plus, working with needle felting gives me the opportunity to make miniature stuff – something I’ve always had a passion for.

Whatever the reason, I’ve been working on these little figures most afternoons and evenings and listing them in my Etsy shop.

Here is baby boy mouse with his bunny and milk bottle.

And the baker mouse with her fresh loaves of bread and her baker’s cap.

A middle aged couple on the way to the beach with towels and soft drinks in hand.

A little gardening mouse in her ladybug boots.

A homeboy mouse with a hoodie, untied sneakers and snacks.

A ladylike mouse whipping up cream to top a pie.

And last but not least, the best Elvis impersonator of the mouse world, Elvis Mousely.

These little guys are so much fun to make. They’re done in a couple of days mostly, depending on the time I have to spend on them and the bits I need to make – like the shoes and any props I can’t buy. Sometimes I make my own clothes (like Elvis’ jacket and the aprons on the cook and gardener), or footwear which means I have to let the air dry clay I use in most cases dry. And any painting I need to do… But they’re quicker to make than the papier mâché dogs I had been making in the past. Not to say I won’t be making more of those!

My needle felting workshops are doing ok as well. Given this is a small island and a lot of people leave over winter and are too busy to do any crafts in summer, I never expected these workshops to take off, but they are great fun for those who do join in.

But I have to get back to painting and not spending all my time stabbing wool. I have 2 commissions and the series I’m working on waiting for me!

z

needle felting once more

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Its been years since I picked up a felting needle and wool, but recently I’d been seeing a ton of posts on FB of needle felted animals created by some talented people and it brought back the memory and joy of needle felting. You can see some of my past projects here, here, here and here.

I had the supplies in the basement, so soon as I returned from my trip to Athens to visit mom I went down and brought up two boxes of wool and tools.

Unfortunately, most of my felting needles had rusted and/or broken, but I still had 5 that worked, so I began to think about what I’d create. I wanted to make something with a wire armature so it would be moveable unlike anything I’d ever done before, and I knew I didn’t want it to be realistic. I wanted to make anthropomorphic critters cause I think they’re so cute.

The first one I made was this little mouse. He’s about 15cm high (about 6inches). I began by sketching the shape and making an armature out of some (probably too thick) aluminium wire I had on hand, making sure to curve the ends so as to not have wires sticking out of the ends.

The coarsest wool I had was a dark burgundy colour (why on earth would I have bought dark burgundy???) so I began by felting the body with that, then adding the coloured layer on top.

Once i made the head, I joined it to the body (sorry no pics of the process) and decided to make him a heart to hold. I added whiskers (bristles off a house painting brush) and eyes. I had some small and tiny eyes in my collection of ‘stuff I will use one day’.

Here he is before I stitched on the nose and mouth.

I decided his feet needed something and I was about to make him slippers when a voice suggested bunny slippers. Perfect!

I also made him a colourful vest cause he seemed incomplete without a stitch of clothing. I made it using a pair of socks I had and never wore. It seems I’m always cutting up my clothing items when I need to make something… hm… What does that say about me?

I used a small bead as a button to keep the vest in place. I liked the curling edges so left that as it was, opting not to iron the vest.

His tail was made by wet felting – using hot water and soap to felt onto a piece of wire so he could be balanced and stand.

And here he is, finished.

For now he’s sitting on my bookcase watching me work. He’s for sale, but for now I’m not sure where I’ll put him up for sale – Facebook, Etsy, Tedooo? I just joined Tedooo and haven’t quite worked it out. I’m really not so good at all the social media stuff…

But there he is. Ready for his new home!!

In the new year I’ll be organising some needle felting workshops. I really am looking forward to that!

z

two shiny schnauzers

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Another commission to share today, one which took me forever to do. I mean, I started them fine, back before summer… but then it was summer. Busy with grooming and mom being sick and visitors and all sorts of busy summer things.

Up to that point I had only done the structure of them, ie cardboard, masking tape and wire so I needed to move onto the clay or papier mâché part. Since the buyer didn’t want these finished in fabric, I decided to use air dry clay for the whole thing.

And I’m glad I did cause I love the way they turned out.

Given the brief for these guys was ‘something easy to dust’ I opted to spray them with white gloss paint, something I’d never done before as a finish for my work. But I’m really happy with the result.

What do you think?

z

dizzy – a commissioned dog sculpture

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This is one dog I especially loved doing. He belongs to a friend of mine and he’s a beautiful boy with a lovely personality and serious ball addiction.

He’s some kind of terrier mix with huge ears and a crazy coat.

Here is a close up of his face and those massive ears.

And a little 3D visual.

So, how did I achieve that coat you ask? Well, I thought the best thing for it would be to use gauze. I raided my medicine cabinet and took out some gauze which I dyed by soaking in coloured water: the black was diluted acrylic paint, and the tan was… you guesed it! Black tea!

I then cut up the gauze strips into sections and laid them over the figure in a way that matched Dizzy’s colouring and the direction of the coat.

I then brushed the gauze to loosen it up and give it a more ‘hairy’ appearance.

It worked out pretty well even if do say so myself.

Mind you, the coat is not soft and flowing. I had to fix him with PVA glue to make sure he stayed intact, but he’s a sculpture, not a toy, so I figure that doesn’t matter.

The friend that commissioned him asked about his eyes. I don’t do eyes on my dogs. I’m not really sure why, they just seem better that way. Maybe its because I don’t feel I can do them justice this way, not like I can in my paintings. Maybe its cause without eyes you can project your own eyes onto them, your mind automatically fills in the blanks and imparts the emotions that you want to see in the figures.

Maybe I’m full of crap. But I’m the artist, so I have creative license. Ha.

z

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Funky Junk Upcycle Ideas 753

a flowery dachshund

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Meet Fleur. She’s a sweetie.

This is one of the dogs I worked on for myself while working on a couple of commissions which I’ll share soon.

I figured that since my first two dachshunds sold quickly (here is one, the other is at the bottom of this post cause I guess I never shared him on the blog… oops), that maybe making another for my Etsy shop (or ebay? or where..?) might be a good idea.

So, Fleur was made the same way as all my other dog sculptures, using recycled cardboard, wire, DIY paper pulp, air dry clay and then covered in decoupaged napkins to make her pretty and colourful.

I thought she would look best with a purple nose, so there it is! Before selling her, I’m considering giving the nose a shine with some varnish, just to make it shine… I think that will look great.

In case you’re wondering where I disappeared to, well, I have some great excuses. One is I went through a very busy stage, working at the travel agency and grooming dogs in my free time. The other is I went through a lazy stage, preferring to live vicariously through Netflix while holding down the couch. Can’t be too safe with those tricky couches.

Then I got inspired, so I’ve been working on a few things. Firstly, finishing my commissions (a deadline sure does help get you out of a funk) then moving on to my own work. And lastly, having stopped the office work and with things quieter on the grooming front, I’ve moved on to some tool related work. Despite the cold.

At least it doesn’t rain often on Paros. Not a good thing…

Oh, and a ton of home organising, moving summer clothes up and winter clothes down and sorting a ton of stuff to give away. If it doesn’t bring joy, get rid of it – isn’t that the saying? I also say “if I haven’t worn it in ages, it has to go”. Its my way of making room for new stuff (new or 2nd hand) which I will wear.

I am a natural organiser but I never seem to get as organised as I’d like to be. I have storage solutions coming out of my nose, but am I able to find something quickly every time? Nope. Cause it’s not totally, sensibly organised into a spot where it belongs!

sigh.

So anyway, look forward to being spammed with posts over the next few days. Hopefully I can keep up the work, the inspiration and the momentum of blogging again. I mean, what else are you gonna do on those cold evenings?

And, as promised, here is a pic of the last dachshund I made and sold on Etsy. He was covered in striped vintage fabric. One of my all-time favourites.

Cute, huh?

z

urchins on the fridge

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Over the last few days (lots of days) I’ve been working on some sea urchin ideas. First I finished a painting I’d started ages ago… then I made some clay fridge magnets.

Here is a closer up of the urchin painting… a mix of acrylic, watercolour and newsprint on canvas paper. As yet unframed.

And here is a closer up of the magnets. I’ll be selling these guys in sets of 3, I began by thinking I’d make them 3 of the same, then thought it might be more fun to sell them in sets of 3 different ones.

These were made by rolling out the clay and cutting the circles using a little plastic shot glass. Of course, as they dried they buckled a bit but hey… nothing in nature is perfect, right?

I added some great little magnets to the back (Neodymium magnets – the same type I used on the little fish stones I made a few years ago – you can see those holding up the paper).

I personally hate dislike weak magnets that can barely hold up a postcard, so I love these guys. Tiny but mighty.

Anyhow, the weather continues to be hot, but at least we have some wind today… The Cyclades are well known as being the ‘windy islands’, and the wind is both a blessing and a curse. On days like this it’s a blessing cause at least the air is moving around so you don’t just melt into a puddle.

The downside is that the beaches closest to me are in the face of the northern winds, which means the beaches are messy (the waves bring out seaweed and any plastic crap people throw into the sea) and rough. I don’t like rough beaches; I prefer to swim where the surface is like that of a swimming pool… spoilt rotten I am!

Still, at least the breeze going through my house means I don’t need the air-conditioning on today.

z

fish fish fish!

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Yes, I did one of my famous disappearing acts again. However, I have been creating… now and then… not constantly… but trying to…

These fish were a kind of commission/inspriation. A friend wanted to buy some fish to add to her collection of ceramic fish for her wall, so I had a play with some air-dry clay and papier mâché pulp.

This is how the pulp ones started…

And this is them finished.

I love the way the little puffer fish turned out. But he’s pretty delicate… the spikes were hard to make AND keep from breaking while he dried…

I had a go at some flatter/simpler fish, made by cutting shapes out of air-dry clay. This time finishing them in a ‘different way’… ie not fish-like at all.

I decided I like the flower one best so I’ve made a few more of those. They’ll be on my FB Junk4Joy page soon. I decided against hanging them in a group so they each have their own little hook now, and they can be placed on the wall like flying ducks were placed back in the 50s…

I had a little clay left over, I made these fun little brooch fish. I mean, I had the brooch pins already, so why not?

If you see anything on my FB page or in any of the videos I share (not nearly often enough) that you’re interested in, please let me know. I do sell stuff and am happy to ship anywhere.

Life has been pretty busy. What with grooming and trying to keep up with everyone socially, swimming as often as I can manage, etc. I started water aerobics classes early morning 3 days a week and love it. I really need to force myself to get up the same time every morning and just swim. It’s so quiet at that time and usually not windy… ideal beach time for someone like me who hates the sun and the heat.

(So why live in Greece you ask? Well, it’s a long story!)

I’m still missing my little shadow (Lainee) a lot but having dogs to groom, and sometimes look after, helps… I get kisses and cuddles, so I don’t feel so ’empty’.

And I’ll soon be looking after a senior dog I groom cause his old lady mom is having health issues. I really hope she recovers quickly… and can come back to him. As much as I love him, I’m not ready for another senior dog…

z

working with clay

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So, although I’m on a ‘holiday from my usual life’, I have done a little bit of creative work.

First was a big fail. I had some old sheets given to me, very stiff, thick sheets, no longer usable cause they were ripped or worn. I had planned to make shopping bags out of them, stamp them with Junk4Joy and other designs and just have fun with them, giving them as gifts to people who bought my art.

Unfortunately, it ain’t happening. The fabric is way too stiff to work on my sewing machine. I was having all kinds of problems with it so I did what any other self respecting crafter/artist would do – I gave up. It’s not worth the effort and frustration.

And since my thing is recycling, I refuse to buy fabric to make bags. If I’m going to BUY anything, I may as well buy readymade bags! I mean why the hassle of sewing when I can just buy and stamp/paint? Well, cost for one thing. I have to look at the cost of plain cotton bags I can get in Greece. Then decide if it’s worth it.

So I just went on with the other project I brought up to the dog sitting job to work on: sculpture.

I had started these figures months ago. Months and months ago when I was really into sculpture. (I go through phases as anyone who knows me knows.)

I had begun two cats, one sitting and one walking. When they’re finished I can share the start of the project, but for now this is where they’re at currently.

Of course, there have to be naked ladies. I really do love my ‘nekkid’ ladies.

If you remember, the naked ladies are made from recycled dishwashing liquid bottles. The cats, like the dogs, are made from toilet roll or hand roll cardboard, wire, foil and whatever I need to create the shape. They are then built up with a homemade papier mâché pulp and finished off with air dry clay.

They take a long time to make as I have to do one layer at a time allow for drying in between. But I do love getting my hands dirty! I majored in Printmaking at Art School… Inky black hands were the go for years.

Between working on the sculptures and failing at the sewing project, I spend time cuddling with the dogs, taking them out for short walks on the hill around the house, soak in the view, and, for the last couple of days, hiding inside from the cold STRONG wind. sheesh. Its windy out there. This morning I had to search and rescue outdoor furniture from the hillside.

Since its Greek Easter tomorrow and I’m joining the family for lunch, I’ve made a trifle as my contribution. Its currently cooling and soaking up the mastiha liqueur I put in it. Yum. A slightly alcoholic dessert, nothing like the one I made one Christmas in Tasmania where I soaked the cake in Cointreau, then added some in the jelly… Whoa.

Other than that, I’ve been thinking about/stressing over my plans and prioritizing what I have to do moving into the future.

I don’t recommend it.

In fact, I escaped into watching some Queer Eye for the Straight Guy episodes last night. Something easy to watch, not demanding at all!

Monday the homeowners return and I can go back to my own home and hectic life.

z

bonus: a forgotten post

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I was tidying up stuff on my WordPress drafts folder and found this post I’dnever finished, so I thought I’d share it now, more for the sculptures than anything else.

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What do you do with old dishwashing bottles once they’re empty?

Well, if you’re like me and see womenly shapes, you make sculptures of naked ladies out of them.

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Each naked lady has her own shape, just like women do. I made these to look like broken greek statues… I mean, when in Greece…

I made these using dishwashing liquid bottles as the base, then built up the shapes using home made papier pulp and air dry clay. They’re all a little rough, with natural looking textures, and they vary in size according to the bottles I started with.

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I love my naked ladies. Most of them have been placed in my cousin Zefi’s air b’n’b as decor for the time being. There’s only so much room at home for me to display stuff, and so far I haven’t been able to find the right venue to sell them.

As you know, I’m working on that… whether I should continue trying to open a FB/Instagram shop, or whether I should just try to sell through FB and Instagram in a more casual way – I’m having so much trouble with setting up a shop that I’m seriously leaning towards just starting to post stuff with dimensions, descriptions and a price and see what happens…

Maybe I should have ‘ZefiArt/Junk4Joy parties’ at home and display and sell stuff that way… It would mean I’d have to move almost everything into my bedroom temporarily so that I can display stuff all over the living room and kitchen, on the bookshelves, kitchen table, the couch, coffee tables and side tables… every inch of wall space…

What do you think?

z