Drumroll please...

Good evening!

Well! It's time for the reveal! Better late than never, eh? I've kept this relatively under my hat recently, but the news is that I have been working on exhibition pieces to be featured in the APW group exhibition in New York (which starts next week). It has been a very long process, mostly because I decided (in my infinite wisdom) to needlefelt not just one but 2 Munny vinyls. Although there are plenty of things I would change/wish I had had the time to add, I believe it was a valiant effort!

TTFN
xx

Voila!

Good morning!

This is just a teensy peek at how Baba Yaga's face is shaping up. I think she's coming along quite nicely. There are quite a few things in the pipeline at the moment, so it's mostly development work that I will be posting, but there will be some tasty finished pieces heading this way shortly. With regards to one particular project that I am working on I am learning an awful lot. Suffice to say, when working with material placing tactful darts on puppet faces is a tricky business. Make sure you create them symmetrically and your life will be a lot easier.

TTFN
xx

Putty based Faux Pas and a new puppet

Good afternoon!

I am currently swamped with work, but in my efforts to multi-task I have started a new puppet based on my character designs for Baba Yaga. In the spirit of 'experimentation' I decided to work with a latex face, and so I needed to make a plaster mould. Needless to say, this is not without it's own set of problems.
I have become very fond of epoxy putty (despite the stench) and chose to work on top of a paper mache base so as to hopefully eradicate the need to use alginate and work on the face of a real person.






'Hurrah', I thought, 'let's get you into a plaster mould'. Alas, my joy was short lived because I ran out of plaster halfway through filling the tub. I managed to get hold of some more plaster, and allow the mould to set but I did not predict this...



Oh no! The nose was stuck fast. So it was time for Plan B. Something I could easily peel out and that wouldn't set. Plasticine!



The image above doesn't depict the very end mould, but let me assure you that it actually works and disaster has been averted. Now it is time for a hand soak, because all of that moulding has taken its toll on my thumbs!

More to come soon (and never fear, I'll reveal all about the post below this week).

TTFN
xx

Ooo...

Good evening!

Ooo! What is it?...




All will be revealed, very very soon!


TTFN
xx

Strike a pose...

Good afternoon!

Here's a few updates on recent models (there are a couple more exciting projects underway but they're temporarily under wraps). For the book I have been working on, I decided to try a new approach. It was my concern that with repeated use the wire armature inside the felted models would be prone to snapping, and this would present a problem for future repair (being that it's an awfully fiddly job and I would rather not have to snip into one to fix something). Ball joints were the best solution, but as an experiment I decided to obtain a couple of pre-jointed wooden mannequins and model on top of these.
One model has been quickly sculpted with epoxy putty on the head and hands, so as to still give flexible movement of the ball joints and the other I have started to sculpt onto with needle felting. Obviously, it's very early days for both so check back for more updates as they progress!


TTFN
xx