Birdie is Decently Covered

Birdie now has her batting "skin" covering her yarn base, her stomach muscles and leg tendons in place, and is about to begin the build-up of muscles. Progress slows down a bit again, as the exciting beginning stages are done and now it's all about sewing tiny details and many tedious references to anatomy books.

We've had a solid five days of rain here in the Northeast, good weather to sit under a desk lamp on one side and an Ott-Lite on the other.

In a way that's a good thing, as there is no crisp sunny weather tempting me outside to do Fall chores!

Felt Bones

Happy September!

Not a lot of dramatic progress to show; since Hurrican Irene loomed over us in thought if not actual event for more than a week.

We came through it pretty well, no lasting power outages unlike many right around us. Lots of debris to clean up but that's a small concern.

Thanks all for prayers and concerns about our roof, I'm hoping a resolution is on the horizon!

Above shows Birdie before her felt bones were put in place , and below is after the ribcage and pelvis was covered, knees and elbows sewn in place.

Next step is to build tendons on the thighs and cover them with white nylon prior to actual muscle structure. 

Meanwhile a trip to the lake is called for, just one day to eat whatever we want and just stare at the lake and take  pictures of boats and maybe a Heron if I'm lucky!

Birdie has found her Center

She may not look like much yet, but at this stage of creation, skeleton constructed of wire and wrapped in yarn, Birdie has achieved the center of gravity that allows her to stand in the position I pictured when I first sketched her inspiration; "Fairy in the Wind" back in 2008.

It's always a thrill for me when the sculpture can stand on it's own two feet and I can see the "line" the Masters talk about.

Next I will start building felt "bones" like kneecaps and elbows that are put in place before the major muscles begin.

This is the exciting stage, where things can progress quickly and it still feels fresh, no mistakes yet that can't be corrected.

Thanks to all of you who have expressed interest in the process, I will try to record every step that takes us further on the path to the finished character.

I am hestitant to name a date for that.

There may be some bad stuff coming to take my attention away, though I try to bury my head in the sand and keep on plugging away at the worktable.

Keep a happy thought for me, and may your days be sunny in your little corners of the world!

Marionettes, Commissions, Soft Sculpture...and Pickles

It's Pickling time again, and if last year's crop was anything to go by, I'm going to be up to my ears in sticky counters and utensils from now until Sept!

Last year the cukes came so thick and fast that as quickly as I could fill a basket with the proper size and find time to set aside a whole morning, six more had ballooned up to "too big for bread and butters" and had to be made into Dills or Chow-Chow.  I could swear I had checked under every leaf for the little escapees, but I ended up with sixteen jars of dills, about ten bread and butters and five of Chow-Chow.

I need some kind of cucumber goggles that highlight the things in neon orange or Day-Glo pink!

Making slow progress on the Soft Sculpted Infant; it helps to post photos here because some days the changes are too subtle for me to see since I've been looking at it all day.

Even slower progress on the Marionette, since I picked up a commission (my first!) and have to work up a sketch for the client.
Another infant, maybe a bit bigger than the one I'm working on now.

Which brings me back to pickles, and wondering if I should just give the cucumbers away, or use them for compost. They are such a lot of hot sticky work when I'm supposed to be sketching, or sewing, or sculpting.
But is there any sound more satisfying when all the sticky work is done than that wonderful slurpy pop from each of the five jars neatly capped and waiting on the counter?
Sitting here listening to them sound off one by one is a small spot of  pleasure in my day, and really some days you can't ask for more than that!

What Lifts You Up

This was a Crow Morning.

Misty, hazy, oppressive; as unpromising as one of the dead trees that they like to perch in.

I've been feeling a little hazy and unpromising myself lately with this sticky heat that pushes me down like a fist.

Projects go undone, chores are pushed aside.

But what keeps us going is our hope for something better.

As I walked up the little hill that opens onto a beautiful mountain range, the fog was lifting.

The crows pushed off heavily, and one by one the other birds started to sing.

Marionettes, Banners and Soft Sculpture

It's an interesting combination of projects that I'm working on this week. Our temperatures may go up to the mid 90's as the week progresses, with storms possible everyday and the humidity rising as they come closer.

A good week to concentrate on a small, limited number of projects that keep me in one place, in front of a fan, rather than running around with scattered ideas of bigger ambitions as I usually am on weekdays. Yardwork must be done before 8AM if there's any pleasure to be had in it, as there should be.

A helpful neighbor with nothing but the best intentions has cut away all (and I do mean all) of the branches that shaded the Northeast corner of the yard, so no refuge there until my new Cypress shrub, hastily bought over the weekend, can grow up and help out!

So back to small manageable goals.

These are the hands for a Marionette that I will be creating for ADO's Quarterly Challenge, and though I hoped to have some kind of a concept sketch, nothing solid is coming to me, which means that she? he? will progress as the parts come together.

I have never attempted a Marionette, but that's the point of these Challenges, I guess, to try something new and see what comes of it.

The Soft Sculpture part of the week's efforts is this infant, begun months ago but put aside as I wasn't happy with it's progress.

If all goes well, I hope to take this baby to the Art Dolls Convention next May.

What has given me a kick in the pants when dealing with projects I'm dragging my feet on for one reason or another is to keep posting my progress online, so I hope to do that with this one.

My final project is a new banner for the website, which is still in limbo until I find a provider I'm happy with.

Off to get started, and I wish all of you a happy, creative COOL Monday wherever you are!

Sad Day For a Local Landmark

This just goes to show that Nothing lasts forever.

Not much shuts down Main Ave in the West side of Scranton, but when this massive tree came down without warning about a week ago, it took hours to clear away the debris.

Tree and House were always as one to most of us in the area, and the devastation is unbelievable.

Over it's long life, the tree had grown through the fence and seemed as permanent as anything could be, but perhaps our historically wet Spring was responsible for rotting it out from the roots...

The only casualties, fortunately, were another large tree at the curb, which broke the larger one's fall, and of course our sense of security in large seemingly invincible old friends!