Polymer Clay: Sleeping Mermaid

Mermaid: Polymer clay, mohair, glitter, half shell, oil paint, approximately 5"

Mermaids are one of my favorite subjects of fancy. This little lady must be dreaming of pearls.

She is sculpted of polymer clay - sometimes with a needle, to get fine details. Her scales and fins are made from original canes. The scaling is in a loose style, more graphic than fishy. Her lacy top is made of thin slices of a crackle cane. I chose gold for the crackle.

In this close-up, you can see her delicate little fingers and soft blushing of the flesh. I use water-based oils, lightly applied with a soft cloth. The details are then applied with a tiny (000) brush.

Water-based oil paint is beautiful on polymer clay. It seeps into the surface of the clay, so you get staining that seems to come within. Acrylics are plastic and though some will stain, most will lay on the surface of the baked clay. I use them for eye liners, sometimes lips and eyebrows. I often mix the water-based oil with a touch of acrylic indoor/outdoor paint for the parts I want to have a stronger pigment.

The hair! Her long locks are made of mohair. This mohair is produced for dolls. It is very soft and obviously dyed. It comes in a hank. A hank is a bundle of strands put up in a consistent length and weight.

I pull a strand, wet it and twist it in my fingers until there is a point at either end of the strand. This dries quickly and holds. I apply glue to the top of the mermaid's head, let it get tacky. I then lay the strand in the glue so there is even length on both sides of the head. This is the start of my wig. I end up twirling the ends of loose strands and then shape them to the sculpture to look care-free.

The final touch is displaying my mermaid with acrylic "ice". You can find it in the floral department. It is pretty to photograph. It is not fun to step on.

Digital Collage: Who Shall Lead?

Who Shall Lead? Digital Collage

Angels of stone gather around her. Who shall lead? illustrates a diversity of angelic iconography in several styles. She, who is floating above stepped passageways, is surrounded by angels who seem more curious than helpful. The roses suggest a recent passage of a woman who appears to surrender to uncertainty. Her arms are relaxed and vulnerable, her feet do not touch the ground. She is floating just above and her dress is made of burning candles.

Digital Collage: Lonely

Lonely, digital collage

Lonely speaks of the odd, the off, the different. What is this man's story? Is he angry, resolute? Does he play music or only wish so? The eye in the box gives the sense of him never feeling quite free of judgement. The discarded doll; a discarded childhood? The man is eccentric and alone, standing at the edge of the composition. Soft shadowing keeps him feeling outside of things. Broken and degraded is the environment. Lonely is the mystery of the outcast, the forgotten. From where has he come, where has he to go?

Beadwork: Oil Slick Medicine Bag

Beaded Medicine Bag: glass seed beads, thread

The "oil slick" effect of this beaded medicine bag is achieved bead by bead. The color of these lovely glass seed beads are called matte iris. They come as a rainbow mix.

I choose a starting color, then use my needle to pick up the next closest color. I find it very relaxing. I focus my color vision and somewhat unfocus my natural vision so the color I desire pops out of the mix. It would be tedious if I didn't enjoy the challenge.

The bag itself is woven in a peyote weave, also called the gourd stitch because of how easily the weave conforms to an object. I begin with a circle of beads on my thread. Then I add two beads, skip two-so on and so forth. The next row fills in the two skipped beads. This simple process builds the bag. The resulting circular tube is stitched together at the bottom to complete the bag.

Fringe is stitched to the bottom of the bag. Each strand is knotted. Not only does this secure the fringe, it helps it to have flexibility.

The light-catching accent beads are vintage cut bronze Czech beads and are very old. The irregular cuts are a nice contrast to the matte seed beads.

What to put in a medicine bag? A coin, a crystal, a note, a lock of hair. Special tokens seem to find their way to a little pocket worn close to the heart.

shows: Melange Moves

This is an exciting show for several reasons.

Melange opens it's doors for Final Friday for the first time in the new location, 718 West Douglas. It is just down the block to the West, on the North Side of the street.

They have done a lot of work to make the space fit Leslie and her many talents. The room showcases her fine jewelry and jewels in a bright atmosphere. Her commitment to teaching is evident in the student area and viewable lampwork glass bench.

The featured artist is Mike Fallier. I have been a fan of his work for many years. I can't wait to see his paintings.

I have two new cases that I am going to fill with lots of paper items, in celebration of my book soon to be released. You can peek at the book and pre-order it. I will have beaded jewelry and a fresh stock of cards.

Mark Horton, my husband, will be entertaining us with his original music.

Doozie Dyes will be on the sidewalk. Dulcie Guinty will have lots of tie-dye just in time for Winfield.

Come join us for wine and sushi, art and music from 7-10 Final Friday in celebration of

Melange's new location: 718 West Douglas

So exciting!

Miniature Shoes: Felt Prototype

This is a view from my laptop. It shows different parts of the shoe. I can send these drawings to my KNK Maxx electronic cutter and they will be cut exactly as seen on screen. I can change the size of my cut to make smaller or larger shoes.

This view shows the KNK, (Klic-n-Kut), MAXX. The Maxx is a professional, heavy-duty electronic cutting machine. It looks good, but performs even better.

On a carrier sheet, you can see a piece of stiffened felt which has had it's shoe pieces, (and a bunny!) taken from the felt.

The felt shoe pieces on my worktable. I am getting ready to sew the pieces together with thread and a needle. I prefer to use sharps. They are small and sharp! Here I am using sewing thread.

The finished shoe fits Mag, my Asian Ball-Joint Doll. She is 1/3 scale. You can see that the shoes are stitched together on the outside of the shoe in a blanket stitch, meant to be seen. Note that the shoes are elongated and pointed into an elfish style.

Although I am pleased with the outcome, the sides of the shoes could be higher on the foot for a better and more stable fit. I will go in and adjust the design file accordingly.

Work in Progress: The Common Things

The Common Things, paper, ink

This is a scan of one of my book pages for The Common Things. The original is a combination of machine and hand cutting. The landscape pieces are swiped with an ink pad for shadowing.