The "Chesterfield Arts" challenge: "The Strawberry Cake"

This is the new challenge from the "Chesterfield Arts", the non-profit art organization I work for, as an instructor. 

This delicious piece of cake is the original work of one of our students with special needs from "Kaleidoscope" class. 


My challenge is to create art work inspired by this painting... 
Both works are going to feature in the exhibition "The Inspiration"

Mmm, what should I do? 

I have to confess, that I already have a few ideas that make me laugh aloud,and I be delighted to share them with you...

The Birth of "Dina"

I decided to try something new with Dina. She will be my first BJD doll. It is my first attempt to make one, let's see how it goes. I am pretty happy with the head so far. Too much gloss on the lips can be fixed easily enough.

Working on Pierrot

I am happy to annonce that my little Pierrot is complete at last! This labor of love took me about four weeks to complete. In the process I experimented with the new ways and materials. It was quite a journey! I

I love to start working from the head:
it helps me to define the character.

am pretty pleased with the result, but of course, there is space for improvement. Here is the journey from the beginning to the end. I decided to reveal it to you, and if it inspires anyone I would be very happy.
Here is how it all started...

Blue print and the armature.
You simply can't underestimate that.
They are the foundation of the figure.

Earlier, I already used this image:
legs, arms, hands and feet are freshly backed and
 ready to be mounted on the armature.

Now the doll is assembled!
I love this stage: finally I can see the whole figure!

I prefer to make my figures completely adjustable
to different postures.

Making clothes presents a great challenge:
it takes as long, or maybe longer to
design and sew the costume as
to assemble the doll itself.

What a journey! I loved every minute of it! 

Pierrot, My New Project

Yes, another lovely personage from "Commedia Dell' Arte" This is my favorite! In Italian theater his name is Pedrolino, but I like French  "Pierrot" better. Pierrot is a gentle, dreamy, slightly melancholic character. He is sweet and kind boy, younger brother of silly and hyperactive Arlecchinno.
I thought about creating him for a long time, and finally got to it. My Pierrot is very young, almost a child. Traditionally, this part was played by the youngest actors.

Pierrot is already fully assembled, and I am ready to create his costume.  I intend to follow the tradition of the costume of course, but create my own interpreation.

Tips and Tricks of Working with Polymer Clay, part one

If you ever worked with polymer clays and you like me, just starting, most likely you encounter three, at least three big problems.
First: good quality polymer clay is not cheap, even in internet stores, and if you build solid parts, it is going pretty fast. The solid polymer parts are also very heavy, especially heads.
Second: when you try to smooth the surface, you find that it is pretty difficult, because fingers leave marks and dents.
Third: what if you want your parts to be empty inside? For example, my dolls are combination of fabric and polymer parts, that are build on wire armature. If your clay is solid, how do you attach these parts?

In order to solve these problems I researched a quite a few internet articles, read  "how to" books and watched a lot of "Youtube" tutorials. Many of them were good and I learned a lot about the process, yet I could not find all the answers to my questions, because everyone does their sculptures little differently, and not all my questions were addressed.

In order to let the parts dry evenly, stick them on the wire.

Therefore, by the way of error and trial, I was looking for my own ways to solve these big problems. Here are some solutions that I discovered. I decided to share them with you, if it helps you a little, and saves you some trouble, I would be very happy.

My greatest find that helped with solving these big problems is the "Carve-Foam", that is similar to florist foam that is sold in any craft store.  Its greatest advantage is the ability to easily withstand 275 degrees heat of your oven. "Carve-Foam" is easy to give it desirable shape, even without special carving tools. Then, you need to dip it in"Gesso"to seal  porous surface and let it dry.

After it is dry, you place your favorite polymer clay on the polymer mat or a simple piece of wax paper, roll it about 5mm thin and  carefully wrap up your foam forms in.
Gently smooth clay over (do not press too hard, you can crash the foam) The foam provides an nice smooth base, that makes it easier to smooth, without leaving finger marks. Just a little talc, gently brushed and ribbed on the surface of your clay also makes surface smoother.

It is important to put at least one layer of Gesso on.
 You can find it in any craft store.

Sculpt, then bake, and after the parts are cooled off, (give it at least a hour)  clear the foam out!
You can ask: where do I get this marvelous foam? And I will suggest you the link to the "Dick Blick" store. As an art teacher I work with them a lot, and very happy with their prices, quality of products, and service. I would recommend it to every creative person, who has a life and a hobby. Enjoy!
http://www.dickblick.com/products/carv-foam/?clickTracking=true

The parts of my latest project, already backed

The New Beginnings!

Here it is! My favorite moment! it is almost magical: the birth of the new doll! Going from conception to reality.  After I finish with the rough sketches and the initial research, I'd like to start with a face. The face defines everything else; character, mood, posture.

Polymer clay is my favorite material for sculpting, For this little guy I used "Sculpey". This face is already backed. The head is empty inside, yet, still somewhat heavy.

This is another of my favorite personages from the "Commedia Dell'Arte" In my opinion, the most adorable one. I wanted to make him for ages, and finally got to it! Can you guess who he is?

Arlecchinno is complete!

At last! The result of hard work of three months: I started working on Arlecchinno in the beginning of April. My Arlecchinno in his full glory! The most challenging work that took most of the time was his costume. Of course, it is my own interpretation of the classic character. Mine Arleccinno much more childlike and naive.

But in my research I actively used this wonderful site:
http://shane-arts.com/Commedia-Arlechinno.htm

I found the summary of classic "Commedia Del'Arte" extremely interesting and full of useful information.




















A little latter, I still plan to add traditional "Arlecchinno"s mask to his costume.