Surprise, Surprise!

Woohoo it's SPRING!  If not by the calendar then certainly by my first surprise this day.  I discovered this fully bloomed snowdrop crocus in my garden this morning.  Temps in the mid-sixties yesterday melted the last of what little snow we got this year and uncovered a surprising amount of green buds popping up everywhere.  Good day for it - I had a meeting today with my landscaper to discuss new hardscaping for the side garden this year.  I love-love-love! Spring!!

Talking about things I love, I received this wonderful goodie box from Heather Mentzer, fellow member of the chat group FabricATCs One to One.  So much fun to get new stash and I really love the variety of colors and themes Heather put in here, not to mention the plentitude of stash in the box.  Thank you Heather!  I am hosting this month's goodie box, so I'll be playing with my stash to see what I'm ready to pass along...

So, how did that happen?!

So, I'm painting on my head for the Marilyn Radzat class, thinking I hate it, I hate it, I... oh wait a minute, maybe this isn't so bad!  Still got a bit of cleaning up to do, but much more pleased that I thought I'd be with it.  Unfortunately I still don't have hands.  I got a good tip from a friend today and I've got the basic parts done and they are sitting on a piece of cardboard to leach out some of the plasticiser.  I'm still finding this ProSculpt clay way too soft, but the cardboard seems to be helping.  Update, hopefully this weekend.

Sculpting with Marilyn Radzat

I am taking an on-line sculpting class with Marilyn Radzat over on "A is for Artistic"

http://www.aforartistic.com/character-heads-hands.html

I'm probably never going to be great at clay sculpting, but I enjoy the challenge!!  We are using "ProSculpt" which is a polymer clay.  As far as polymers go, I like it better than Sculpy, but I am remembering why I went to paperclay.  I have hot hands. Funny I always thought they were cold, but when I handle clay they heat right up!   Meaning, after just a few minutes clay becomes soft and squishy and impossible to mold.  So I'm learning to keep my hands away from my sculpt as much as possible and work in 15 minute increments.  I've also kept my studio at 65 degrees, which seems to help a bit.

This class is sculpting head and hands and painting them.  I've also signed up for the follow-on class, which will complete the figure, rising from a seashell.  Right now I'll consider it a sucess if I figure out the correct place to put the ears and how to get 2 the same size...

ATCs, I've been remiss

I've been remiss in not posting about the ATCs I received in the December ATC swap.  So here you go:

Here is "Sweet Temptation" by Lynn Parker and "Mountain Glistening" by Heather Mentzer.  Both include seed bead details and terrific layered backgrounds.

the Pink Lady is by Jeane Walker-Sliney, a great example of using tiny scraps, and "Cutting Out a Love Nest" by Sanna, which tells a whole story in its layers.

The unamed piece on the left, by Donna Jones, is made up of different textures and has a very rich luxuriant feel.  "Seascape 7" by Deborah Bonner has fiber trapped behind irridescent tulle and real seashells.  I wish I could get a better pic of this, it shimmers and glows so pretty!

I've also received cards from Maggie Diamante, Rachel Mcollough, and Satu Leinonen, but I need to retake the pics, so I'll post those later.

I've been swapping ATCs for a few years now and I find it a wonderful way to meet and remember other artists.  Its also a good use of scraps and practice pieces and a way to motivate when the muse just isn't speaking.  They'er simple, fast and fun!