Where are the days going?

I can't believe how fast the days, weeks and months are going this year. Looking back I can see what I've accomplished but it isn't close to what I'd hoped to accomplish. With every year I feel like the time to do the things I've always wanted to do is slipping away. I also find it harder to balance my desire for creative time against my responsibilities -- maybe it's the fact I have less energy these days. As the winter gets closer I'm wishing I had a winter home someplace where the sun is shining and the weather is warm.

Fall Already!

Gosh, I can't believe I haven't written here for almost 3 months. Life has been a blur. August is always busy, lots of garden work and harvesting during the late summer. I went to a workshop the first part of September, came home on friday night - helped the judges with the gallery submissions Sat morning - tried to rest on Sunday as Hal had knee replacement at 5:30 on Monday morning :) Hadn't planned it all like this but that's how it came down.

I'll do a little catch-up and try to do better!

Finally some photos!

This is my granddaughter Jennifer, who is the model for the new sculpt.

This is the photo I've used to set the tilt of her head in the sculpt.

The others are just pictures I like, I love her smile and dimples.

It's already Wednesday

Got out and walked very early this morning, before the sun was up as we have Heat Advisories now. The downside to being out so early is it's hard to come back in. I see so many things to do in the yard. You'd think it would be easier to spend my time working in the clay but I'm not finding that.

Here's a picture of the current sculpt, with the face cut off. I made the entire head smaller, changed the position some to match a picture I like. It will be harder to do though, especially if I add the wide smile -- but that's how she always looks. I should post that picture -- next time. I'm not too good at getting these pictures where I want them in a post. A note here, I'm going to teach an on-line class this fall using some of the techniques from forensic sculptors and one of those things will be teeth. There is so much more to the mouth and teeth than we think -- which ones show, where does the lip meet and so on.

I've rounded up a few old pictures so will post some the next time, nothing fantastic, just pictures. I'm notorius for forgetting to take pictures prior to sending out a piece. Sometimes I can get them later, sometimes not - usually the ones I wish I had :) Trying to do better these days, and take pictures in progress.

Dog Days of Summer!

I think we have officially reached them. Our first week of heat alerts plus a bumper crop of ragweed waiting to explode. It's the perfect time to stay inside and sculpt, yet I seem to have lost my energy for doing much of anything right now. I suspect part of it is the crowded situation of my workroom...too many things in progress. I probably need to finish something to get re-energized.

Had problems with my wireless this morning and it took 4 hours to get everything back in order. Not exactly the way to start the day :)

Back to square one

Ended up cutting the features off the new sculpt. I was pleased with the technical aspects but it looked stiff. I have angled the head and think I'll use a wider smile...no teeth, just a little more expression. She is leaving for Jamaica this coming week so doubt I'll get any face time soon, it makes such a difference in capturing expression.

Have been asked what the quarters were for. The human eyeball is about the size and shape of a quarter, so it's an easy gauge to check for depth at this point. I've also found the old eye sizers work good to get a round hole in the clay.

Hope to get more sculpting time in the next few weeks. Ragweed is ready to explode and I read this morning it's a bumper crop. I thought we had lots of weeds on the farm but all the vegetation in the area seems to be a goldmine for molds and other allergy causing problems. Won't be doing much yard work!

New Sculpt

Here are a few pictures of the new sculpt I'm working on, it's a lifesize, portrait bust.

You can see where I've added clay to reach the desired dimensions and placed dowels to mark where the ears will be.

Wooden blocks are used to firm and shape the clay mass. You want to get all the air pockets out of the clay as it will be fired. A profile view, here I'm using quarters to guage the depth of the eyeball.

A disadvantage of taking pictures in progress is I have to keep wiping the camera off :)

Tuesday July 24th

I know I keep saying it but time is going so fast this year! Busier than I've been in years. Still working with the Forensic Reconstruction and will be doing more in a few weeks. Writing lessons for an on-line class on using techniques from forensic sculptors to make your sculptures more realistic. Teaching on-line will be a first for me. I've always enjoy teaching but the time involved in weekly classes got to be too much. Weekend workshops are so nice as you can concentrate for hours at a time and I think the students really learn more with no other distractions. That said, I am teaching again though not a regular weekly class. We meet about every other week for several hours.

Have a few other items going also, all dealing with sculpture and/or art in general. What a good feeling to be able to concentrate on art again! No pictures to post today though I have taken several -- just need to get them onto the computer.

New Projects

Getting back in the groove. Got a head armature ready to start the new life-size bust of my granddaughter...last one was 1992, she was 9yrs old. Also started another item with wet clay, not sure what it's going to be but am starting with the feet up this time and thinking I'll end it at the waist...maybe a vase? Got the first foot and lower leg done today and am letting it firm up overnight, will do the second leg tomorrow. About 8" tall I think. Still don't have my kilns wired but hopefully we'll find time this month. These will have to dry good so time isn't a problem.

Summer's Here!

I can't believe how fast this year is going. After a crazy winter and spring we are finally into full summer. The sudden heat after our cool, rainy spell is hard on the plants so is taking more of our time keeping things up - plus getting a few last minute items in before July arrives.

Spent all day Wednesday making a plaster macquette of my granddaughter in preparation for doing a full sculpt of her. With her work schedule and a new house, she has precious little time to sit for me. This way I have something to check my measurements against when she's not around. Not the best solution but better than nothing.

I've been working on the forensic sculpt, tweaking a little here and there in the mornings while it's cool. Ideally, I could put it in the fridge to get good and cold to eliminate the stickiness but barely room in there for food! My husband came up with the idea of putting it in the ice chest along with our Blue Ice, which I did. Just checked and it's firm, though I'll probably add more ice tonight and keep it as cold as possible till the first of the week. Sounds like something from the Sopranos, keeping a head on ice :) The terra cotta sculpey is hard to photograph as you can't see the depth in it - but I've been experimenting with different macro settings on my digital. It's a good way to check as I will notice things I don't see working on it. The pictures from the digital camera aren't quite as sharp as with the SLR but the ease of working with it make it well worthwhile. Once I'm satisfied, I'll take some photos then take it apart. I'll post some photos when it's done.

Still Working

I have the layer of "skin" on my forensic sculpture and am at a standstill. I realize now why I should have purchased some new plasticine for this project rather than make do with the Sculpy I had on hand. The Sculpy is much too soft for this type of work. I'm still having a problem not using my hands on the clay, it's so instinctive to smooth a place with my thumbs, but that's not an option here. One reason is, by pushing the clay you also move the markers. The pegs are glued on but easily pushed over. I used a generic skull form and the measurements for a caucasion male -- and what I got was a generic male look :) The lower jaw is too short to accomodate these measurements and while I can add clay, it would lose the reality. It's hard not to let my fingers shape it the way I think it should be rather than how it actually was.

Slow Going

I got the layer of "skin" on my study head I'm working on -- but seem to be stuck.

Work in Progress

Here are front and profile views of the skull with the Peg markers in place. Clay is added to the depth of each marker to establish the basic counters.

New Work

I have finally been able to start some Forensic Reconstruction models, these are just study models using the Peg Method, but what great fun. Harder than I'd anticipated -- you have to ignore your instinct to sculpt and follow the lines of the skull. There are charts to use which help in gauging the tissue depth of the different races & sex.

On the first one I used some Sculpy I had on hand rather than ordering new plasticine and it proved too soft for this purpose. I also used a foam skull I had on-hand rather than waiting for a study model to arrive. I didn't realize this problem till I was almost through and saw the anatomical differences created a problem. But has been great fun and I learned a lot. I'm looking forward to working more with this when time allows.

New in 2007

Welcome to our new blog! Here you can find information on new artwork as it's available and news of happenings in our life. With the sale of the farm we are expanding our on-line presence...you can also check our website, http://www.oakridgefarmonline.com.