SANTA IS POPPING UP EVERYWHERE

It's been a busy week since my last post with lots of things happening. I love staying busy but sometimes things get almost too busy.  If you read my last post you know that my granddaughter Ariel and her friends were arriving for a visit. They arrived a week ago Monday evening and stayed until this past Monday morning. We had a wonderful time visiting and the weather was perfect for most of the time they were here.

Since the weather was so warm I decided to do some much needed yard cleanup and got a few vegetables and strawberries planted. It's starting to look less scary out there. I was even enjoying sitting out on the patio in the early morning with my first cup of coffee. Note the past tense. 

On the days the kids went site seeing I either worked in the yard or worked with my paper mache.  I'm now up to 21 heads, don't ask, and with everything happening the week went by too fast.

We decided to have a cookout on Sunday evening since they were leaving Monday morning so of course the weather decided to revert back to our norm for this time of year which is cold and windy with plenty of rain. We didn't let that get in our way and went ahead and had a fantastic time. I ate too much and my fridge is packed with leftovers that I'll be eating for the rest of the week. Leftover fruit salad makes great tasting smoothies and I like pasta salad better when it's been in the fridge for a day or two. I'm going to enjoy the heck out of these leftovers.

I did manage to get two Santa figures finished during this time. One I had started last November and it has taken me longer to get this one done than any of my other pieces. It's not that he's any different or more special than the others, I think it was more a matter of getting side tracked with other things.

I've been calling him the "Last November Santa" not the most original name.

When I first started on him I had left his hat off and he had a bald head. His beard was longer and thinner and his cloak collar was laying flat in the back. He also wasn't holding this puppy. I also tried a new way of making boots that was an offshoot of what I did with Dory and Donner's shoes. They're a combination of fabric and paper mache. I'm quite happy with the way he turned out.

The other Santa I finished is a smaller figure. He's shorter and thinner and less complex. I have been experimenting with the paper mache recipe and have four test subjects. This is the first one that I've finished and I'm happy with the recipe I used. Too bad I didn't document things better.

This Santa was sculpted over a small creamer bottle. His head was sculpted directly onto the top of the bottle. The reason I mentioned this is the next three pieces that are part of my experiment are done with the heads sculpted separately and then attached to the body. I also did a bit of experimenting with my painting technique. His hair and beard have a pearlized finish and there is glitter on the stocking and the ruffle around the bunny's neck. I haven't used glitter on any of my previous Santa figures and have never used anything other than a clear matte finish.

I have been trying to achieve a paper mache clay that is as hard and durable as the original recipe that I started with but one that holds it's shape better during the sculpting process and is easier to smooth while sculpting to cut down on the filing and sanding that is so hard on my hands. I think I'm heading in the right direction. Now if I'd only remember to write things down.......

The weather is dreary again so no more sitting out on the patio day dreaming. I guess that means I'll have plenty of time to work on bodies and clothes for all of those heads.

Have a wonderful week and as always, thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,
Maddy