Posts tagged ‘sculpture’

My fallen Goddess offering for Monochrome Weekly. I love her in my yard, even as she lays; fallen from her pedestal who knows how or why. Fallen as every God or Goddess or Idol must whether to reason or age or the simple passage of time.

I added some contrast to the image. It was too uniformly grey, but I think I may have added too much. I really like this photo, so perhaps I must fiddle with it some more.

Peace, out!

Have you ever had one of those days? The kind of day when nothing really big goes wrong. No major catastrophes. Maybe even a few good things happen. But the couple of things you really want to happen- just don’t? I mean, you can’t make them happen no matter how much you try to force the issue? No matter how many angles you come at it from, how many prayers- how much cursing-bargaining-begging? The kind of day when the only version of “The Serenity Prayer*” you can muster is the short** version?
Today has been that kind of day. I stayed up all night working on my little Grandma. That was okay. I’m a night owl and I do that every now and then, especially when I’m dancing with one of my various and eclectic muses. I took a nap this morning at about 9:30. I slept ’til one. Up until then the day was going great.
It was then I went looking for my paints and brushes. Now, I don’t need the paint right this minute (we’ll get to that), but I needed the brushes. Grandma’s face needs a bit of work that only a couple of my fine sable brushes dipped in alcohol will do.
My paint box appears to be MIA, (Missing in Action). Okay, I can live with that. I’m an artist after all. I have paint brushes coming out of my ears. Hell, didn’t I use one to put up my hair just the other day?
No.
It must have been a crochet hook.
I can’t find a paintbrush in this freaking house to save my soul.
And where, you may ask, are my paintbrushes?
Probably in the fucking cellar with my paints!! The fucking cellar, the door of which is covered by a 2 fucking foot deep drift of snow!
Okay. (I take a moment to breathe). No biggie. We can work around this- right? Right! So I’ll just go ahead and bake her, and then finish up her face when I do the rest of the clean up, finishing and polishing with my handy dandy little dremmel tool.
Yay! Good deal. Found the dremmel (I was SO afraid it was in the cellar!)
Proceed to the kitchen for baking. Towels for the space under the door so my birdies don’t get fumes? Check. Houston, we have ignition.
Errr- or not.
Grandma, with her staff in hand is too tall for my convection oven.
Okay. I have a real oven. I do! Of course, since it is an antique it has no thermostat. And I never use it because it’s just too big a pain in the ass to regulate the temperature by hand, keeping n eye on the little thermometer that hangs from the center rack. But what the hell, I can deal with it for the 15 to 30 minutes Grandma needs to be in the oven, right?
The hanging rack thermometer is missing.
(Check this out, okay? I am a fucking trooper, here!)
Meat Thermometer!!! Woot! That ought to work! (Damn! Yay me!)
Well… It probably would have.
How the fuck does an oven that you never use break? Quit? Stop working?
I have no idea, but mine seems to have. Go figure.

I’m going to hand sew her cast off cloak now, and hope she at least partially cures sitting in front of the fireplace. Just enough so that I can lay her down in the convection oven.

So here’s my girl. She has nipples and boots and snow and crocus.

* The Serenity Prayer

God(dess), grant me the serenity to:
accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

** The Short Version

Fuck it!

… or Return of the Light? Or “Grandmother Rejoices? Still working on title as well as sculpture. It’s amazing to me how difficult this is; to sculpt at this scale. It is so very different from the larger scale work I am accustomed to doing. Well, I mean, as far as sculpture. I guess my tattoos are often about this size, but that’s a-whole-nother ball ‘o wax. Drawing is 2D that I of course try to make look 3D. Doing this tiny sculpting is similar to drawing or tattooing at this scale in that I have to decide what details to put in and which to leave out- which would just muddy up the overall effect. I’m finding it much more difficult to do than while drawing. I think it’s simply due to a lack of experience in the medium. So skip this if you’re not into it. I’m just rambling a bit about the process.

I’ve taken a number of pics from slightly different angles and of course views. I’m finding that I really need to just walk away, periodically. 2 diametrically opposite things keep happening. It’s kind of odd.
1.) I become so engrossed in working a particular feature that I’m absolutely LOVING (like the hand, for instance) that until I leave it and come back I can’t seem to see that it’s gotten either too big or too small for the piece.
2.) I feel like I’m struggling terribly, and I’m absolutely HATING a particular area, feeling that it’s too large, too small or just awkward until I leave it and come back to see that it’s actually good/proportionate or whatever.

I think her legs are still a bit too short, but I’ve decided it’s okay for her to be a lil stubby.

I’m feeling much better about her breasts. They were waaay too stiff and a bit too perky for a woman her age. I’m really pleased with the curve aof the flesh leading into her armpit. And the saggy flesh in the triceps area.

Looking at the pics is kind of like walking away, too. I see things I don’t seem to see when I’m working on it. Some are really strikingly good areas, others show the need for more work.

Like here. As much as I like her round belly, it’s too smooth. I don’t want it to look taught like pregnancy. More loose and fleshy.

I think I have acheived the fleshy look on her thighs. That’s what needs to happen on her belly and waist.

The face is really difficult. I think it’s the hardest part. It still needs a lot of work. It requires frequesnt rests. The polymer gets pretty soft when I’m working it and then the features get mushy too fast. Same problem with the hands

Her nose is too crooked.

As difficult as the hands have been, I’m really enjoying them.
I think I’m insane.
Muahahahahaaaaaa……