Wow..time sure does fly by. It has been a while since my last post.
Last month was a horrible one for me and my family, my mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had passed away in a a matter of a couple of weeks. I had committed to submitting an entry into the Monsters Swap before all the news hit us and wanted to finish my design..I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but it
wasn't until we were back home that I was able to get my hands dirty.
When I first started working on him, I was only able to do bits and pieces at a time. So many memories of making things in the past and being so proud of them, I'd have to share them with Mom...but now that has changed and I was no longer able to call her up and share. So, I would end up sculpting the head and be really happy with it...then I would say to my self, "Well Mom..what do ya think?".. and I would repeat that a few times at different stages of completion. Sometimes I would just hear silence, sometimes a ladybug would appear on the window (mom loved lady bugs), and one time I swear I heard her laugh and say, "Oh
Cin!" as if she knew how excited I was about it, but yet she really
didn't see why.
Punkin Head was a good distraction project for me. At times I would get lost in the details of making him and would change my mood of sorrow and loss to one of excitement. I was SO thrilled with the idea of making actual pumpkin "guts" and
couldn't wait to get started on that part.
I used a variety of materials in this guy. His head was at first sculpted from polymer clay over a core of tinfoil bound by floral tape. His teeth and tongue were formed from
paper clay. Both were covered in a few coats of
gesso and acrylic paints.
Punkin's body and arms were formed out of paper
mache and his legs were simple bamboo skewers. His feet needed to be heavier in weight to keep him balanced, so I again used polymer clay. More layers of paint were applied, and I decided to apply a few washes of paint to dull up some of the more vivid colors on him. His "guts" were formed from string,
paper clay, acrylic paint, and acrylic glaze.
I felt like all the above work was just fine, however something was missing. After a day or two of staring at him..I decided upon two things. One, if one's cranial "guts" were pulled out and placed in a bowl, I would bet that person wouldn't be too concerned with
hygiene and therefore would be more than likely drooling all over the place...~
cue more acry
lic glaze~ Two, how exactly did one's "guts" get into the bowl? ~enter rusty spoon~ (Yes, I am just that warped at times ...and this is where Mom would say again "Oh
Cin!") The playful twist on the whole theme is that poor
Punkin Head was
in fact the one that was holding the spoon!
If you would like to see more entries for the Monsters in the Closet Swap please visit
wildatheartart.blogspot.com and scroll down. It's
truly amazing to see how all the different participants had interpreted the theme differently...and
OMG the talent these lovely people have..amazing!
lic glaze~ Two, how exactly did one's "guts" get into the bowl? ~enter rusty spoon~ (Yes, I am just that warped at times ...and this is where Mom would say again "Oh Cin!") The playful twist on the whole theme is that poor Punkin Head was in fact the one that was holding the spoon!
xt day..full of doubt and ready for rejection. However, it was quite the opposite reaction that I received. Both Kate and Morn loved them...and at the time there were a few other people in the store that also were excited about them. I was handed a contract then and there and was given the invitation to bring them in whenever I liked. Yessss! So...I am now working on a few dragons to be sold only at their store.
finally finished those. (pictured here) These were fun to make. One, the clay was soft and mushy..hard to sculpt because it would just melt impressions of my fingers in it whenever I would work on it. The other, the opposite, the clay was super hard and crumbly and had to be worked into other clays to soften it up. It was very resistant to manipulation but seemed to have held some really sharp crisp lines. All in all, they both turned out well and will be on their way to their new homes. I asked the buyer to forward some pictures of them once they are all strung up as necklaces. Hopefully she wont forget to send them and I can post them here.
