What, another Mrs. Claus?

With this latest incarnation of Santa I couldn’t resist making a Mrs. Claus in the same style to see how she would look. Before I made the first Mrs. I’d had so many ideas of what I could have her doing, and the very first idea was to have her holding a cookie sheet of cookies she had just taken from the oven. This idea stayed with me so I felt I should do a figure with a cookie sheet of ginger bread boys.

This little gal is approximately 10 ½“tall and the perfect size to be one of the last three Santa’s wife. I’ve dressed her in a lighter pallet than I did for the others in this style as it is more feminine and works well with her white hair. Speaking of hair, her hair is worn in a long braid hanging down her back. Our little Mrs. has a playful nature as we all know, and her striped stockings are proof of it.

When decorating her kitchen, Mrs. Claus chose to use her favorite colors. Everything is red and green, of course. Her oven mitts match the dish towels and curtains and the seat cushions of the benches and chairs. Even the walls have touches of red and green. If I continue making figures of Mrs. Claus in the kitchen I’m going to have to do a painting of the kitchen for her to be photographed in front of.

Please forgive the photography and the wrinkles in the back ground as it is tissue and hard to smooth out.

I sat her centered on the shelf with the other Santas and I caught two of them eyeing the cookies. You could tell they were thinking, "What's she doing with only six cookies? That's not going to be enough to go around."

I’m going to my sister’s for a workshop this week so I won’t be posting or blogging for a few days. Hopefully when I get back I’ll have something to show you.

Have a wonderful week, and thanks for visiting.

Why I Prefer Santa

Recently someone told me that I should make a Mrs. Claus. I did make one back in the middle of March, but haven’t gotten around to posting her. She was the first female sculpture I created if you don’t include the snow people.

I haven’t made a second Mrs. Claus as I’m not sure if people are interest enough in the wife of Santa to want to purchase her. When I decided to make this figure I had thought of all the ways I could make her. She could be working in the kitchen baking ginger bread cookies. I could have her holding a cookie sheet with the cookies she’d just taken from the oven, or have her mixing the dough. Maybe I could have her sewing clothes for the dolls or making teddy bears. I had so many ideas of what she could be doing but decided I’d give her a day off from work and dress her up in her out doors clothing and send her out for a walk.

When sculpting Santa there’s this wonderful beard and everyone expects him to be plump. With Mrs. Claus there is no beard to hide the double chin or the lines around the mouth and being female she would worry about looking too plump. See the problems this causes? Females are just so complicated, aren’t we?

Since I’ve made three female figures and you’ve already met two of them it’s only fair that Mrs. Claus gets her turn at a post.  If you decide to leave a comment please do not spare my feelings and be honest as to whether or not I should pursue making another Mrs.

Someone recently said something to the effect that my figures look something like me. Let me make something very clear. I look nothing like this. Really. I look terrible in red.

If you compare a profile photo of Mrs. Claus to Santa you will see they have the same physique.

Does this dress make my hips look wide? I just had to say that. Sorry.

Here are all three of my little ladies.  I know their colors don't work well together and for some reason the perspective is skewed. 

Now that you've had a chance to see what a Mrs. Claus would look like, would you make another? Let me know and like I said, be honest.

Thanks for stopping by.

Are stripes really slimming?

This is the Santa that I said I was working on in tandem with the two previous ones I posted. As before, the colors of his clothing are darker and muted. I went with stripes again as I’ve heard that if worn vertically they are slimming and make the wearer appear taller. Since this guy is about 12” I figured he could use all the help he could get.

Here he is, teddy bear in one hand and the smallest of trees in the other.

From this angle you can almost see the tree. Only kidding. It actually looks bigger shot from this angle.

 

This is a better angle to view the teddy bear. Hey, Prudence, what do you think? Can he come to visit you at the Bears Blog?

I haven’t been putting all my time and energy into sculpting this week. It seems that I tend to be just a tad obsessive when I do things. Not just some things, but everything. For example, I collect DVDs, and have been known to purchase 12 in one week. Not just once either. Then there are the paperback novels. I have over 800 books packed in containers sitting in my studio. I have three closets full of clothes, I have two pantries filled with food and I have two freezers filled to capacity…….Get the picture? I can’t seem to do anything in moderation. I also don’t spend much time sleeping so I have more waking hours to fill, and for four months now I’ve been spending from 10 to 15 hours each and every day working with my paper mache clay.

This would not be such a problem except for the fact this medium can be very hard on your hands. I try to do most of my sculpting with tools but do get it on my hands and believe me; it is very drying, not to mention hard to remove once it’s dried. Another thing about working with this medium, it becomes very hard. In addition to the sculpting tools I also use files and sand paper when working on my pieces. I’ve worn out one set of diamond files and am now in the process of wearing out a second set. I’ve also worn out my hands.

For a while now I’ve been experiencing problems with my hands. When I went with my sister to the coast I’d hoped that giving my hands a rest for a few days would help. It seems I have developed tendonitis in my ring finger and thumb on my right hand.  I’ve had tendonitis in the thumb before but not the ring finger. Having the two acting up at the same time has had me cut back on my hours like nothing else could.

I was feeling bummed out but some marvelous things have happened to me this week that have lifted my spirits and helped me through this latest development.

First thing that was unexpected and smile bringing was I won in The Olde Bagg’s: All things OZ giveaway.  I couldn’t believe it. I won something and not just any old something either. I won Oz Pez dispensers. When they get here I’ll photograph them so I can show them to you.

The next thing to happen was I went from having 12 followers to having 24 followers in a matter of days. Wow! Is that cool or what? These are really wonderful followers too. They have helped me out of the funk I was in and I want to say a big thank you to all of them and to all of the rest of you.

Then, another wonderful thing happened. I became a great-great aunt to the sweetest little boy thanks to my great niece Jordan. She is such a sweet heart and I know this little guy is going to be just as sweet as his mom. Happy Mother's day Jordan.

The latest thing is that an artist that I admire greatly spent several hours sitting with me in my studio yesterday praising my work. He could not stop complimenting my little guys and gals. I could feel myself getting all puffed up. I hope he knows how much he helped this old gal feel better about the way things have been lately. If my hands have to fail me at least I got something good out of them first.

So, I’ll continue blogging and will sculpt when I can, but will try to control my obsessive nature and do it in moderation. I may also try working in other mediums when I can’t sculpt. I just bought some oil pastels that I watched Marlene work with and since they were new to me and something I didn’t have, of course I had to get them.

Thanks for stopping by.